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THE  -*» 

TRUE    SYSTEM 

OF 

RELIGIOUS  PHILOSOPHY, 

IK 

LETTERS  TO  A  MAN  OF  THE  WORLD 

DISPOSED  TO  BELIEVE. 

BY 

J.   E.  LE    BOYS    DES    QUAYS, 

EDITOR   OF    "LA    NOUVELLE   JERUSALEM." 

TRANSLATED     FROM     THE     FRENCH, 

BY 

JOHN    MURDOCK. 


THIRD   EDITION, 

REVISED    AND    CORRECTED     BY 

GEORGE     BUSH, 

PROFESSOR  OF  HEBREW  IN  THE   UNIVERSITY  OF   NEW  YORK. 


FIKST  AND  SECOND   SERIES. 


BOSTON: 

OTIS    CLAPP,    23    SCHOOL    STREET. 

LONDON:    J.  S.    HODSON  AND  WILLIAM  NEWBERY. 

1849. 


c* 


REESE    LIBRARY 

OK    THK 

UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA 

Received- ..         .  L^/fo^Les          /Av  x^- 

•  •*-/.»»  ^ 

Accessions  Ac. 2  s>  / /  °  S/ielf  No... 


THE 

TRUE    SYSTEM 

OF 

RELIGIOUS  PHILOSOPHY, 

IN 

LETTERS  TO  A  MAN  OF  THE  WORLD 

DISPOSED  TO  BELIEVE. 

BY 

J.    E.   LE    BOYS    DES    GUAYS, 


TRANSLATED     FROM     THE     FRENCH, 

JOHN 


Mto 


THIRD   EDITION, 

REVISED     AND     CORRECTED     BY 

GEORGE     BUSH, 

PROFESSOR  OF  HEBREW  IN   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   NEW  YORK. 
1 


OTIS    CLAPP,    23    SCHOOL    STREET. 
LONDON:    J.   S.   HODSON   AND  WILLIAM   NEWBERY. 

1849. 


PREFACE 


TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


The  first  edition  of  this  work  having  been  exhausted  some  months 
since,  it  has  been  deemed  desirable  to  issue  it  in  a  new  and  improved 
form.  With  this  view  it  has  been  subjected  to  a  rigid  revisal,  and 
now  makes  its  appearance  in  a  style  of  execution  in  some  degree 
worthy  of  its  invaluable  contents.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  point  to 
any  single  work  illustrative  of  the  conjoint  philosophy  and  theology 
of  Swedenborg,  more  happily  adapted  to  its  end.  Taking  the  dis 
turbed  but  meditative  skeptic  in  the  crisis  of  his  mental  conflicts, 
he  leads  him  gently  onward,  from  certain  rudimentary  principles  of 
belief,  through  a  series  of  well  compacted  and  consecutive  reason 
ings  to  the  grand  conclusions  embodied  in  the  faith  of  the  New 
Church.  The  evolution  of  the  argument  is  so  skillfully  conducted 
— one  step  of  the  demonstration  rises  so  naturally  from  another— 
every  difficulty  proposed  is  so  luminously  cleared  up — that  admission 
after  admission  is  forced  from  the  doubter,  till  at  length  the  momen- 
toua  result  is  seen  to  be  inevitable — man  is  immortal  j  there  is  a 
heaven  and  a  hell ;  he  lives  as  perfect  a  man  after  death  as  before; 
he  dwells  in  a  spiritual  body,  in  a  spiritual  world ;  that  world  is 
replete  with  objective  scenery  suited  to  the  senses  which  take  cog- 


Vi  PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 

nizance  of  it ;  his  destiny  there  is  the  necessary  product  of  his  life 
and  character  here ;  and  every  conclusion  reached  on  the  subject  by 
the  fairest  reason  goes  to  confirm  the  truth  of  Revelation. 

Considering  the  profound  and  abstruse  nature  of  the  subjects 
treated,  the  work  will  be  seen  to  be  extremely  felicitous  in  the  clear 
ness  of  it0  expositions,  and  a  certain  attractive  simplicity  in  the 
style  relieves  the  mind  from  that  latent  oppression  which  it  some 
times  experiences  under  the  continuous  influx  of  new  ideas. 

It  will  be  seen,  in  the  concluding  letter,  that  a  second  series  is 
promised,  relating  mainly  to  the  principles  on  which  the  inspired 
Word  is  constructed,  and  by  which  it  is  to  be  interpreted.  We  are 
happy  to  announce,  that  in  the  present  edition  of  the  work,  this  series 
of  Letters,  as  far  as  published,  has  been  added  to  the  preceding.  This 
may  perhaps  enhance  somewhat  the  price  of  the  volume,  but  no  reader 
of  the  first  we  presume  would  willingly  dispense  with  the  second.  The 
whole  will  be  found  to  contain  a  most  able  and  beautiful  expose  of  the 
leading  disclosures  of  Swedenborg,  relative  to  the  philosophy  of  the 
universe  and  the  constitution  of  the  Divine  Word. 

New  York,  April  1,  1848.  O.  B. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  I. 

LETTER  I. — Introductory. — Unhappiness  of  a  Skeptical  State  of 

Mind. The  Being  of  a  God  and  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul. — 

Eeasonnot  to  be  laid  aside  in  Theological  Inquiries. — Conditions 
of  the  Discussion.      .        .        .     •  ..:  •:  •'.>•  •"'.        .        Page  5. 

LETTER  II. — Consistency  of  the  Existence  of  Evil  with  the  Idea  of 
a  God  essentially  good  and  all-powerful. — Creation  originating 
in  a  Spiritual  Sun. — Man  a  free  Agent. — The  Laws  of  Divine 
Order.  -  .  .  ^  .  •  "•'/  *  '  '  Page  10- 

LETTER  III. — The  surest  Means  of  conducting  Man  to  true  religious 
Principles,  to  assure  him  of  his  Immortality.  Page  20. 

LETTER  IV. — Of  Spiritual  Substances  and  Forms. — God  Very  Man, 
the  Man-Type.— The  Soul  an  Image  of  God,  a  substantial  Being, 
having  a  Spiritual  Body,  endowed  with  all  the  organs  which 
constitute  the  terrestrial  Body  with  which  it  is  clothed.  Page  28- 

LETTER  V.— Demonstration  of  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul  or  of 
the  Man-Spirit.— Digression  respecting  the  Nature  of  An 
gels ,  r  !  l^oYT  Pa«e43' 

LETTER  VI.— Exposition  of  the  Spiritual  World.— The  Relations 
which  exist  between  God,  the  Spiritual  World,  and  the  Natural 
World.— End,  Cause,  and  Effect.— The  Spiritual  World,  a  real 
World  corresponding  to  ours.— Digression  concerning  Space  and 
Time.  '.'•-"  .  .  Page  57 


Viii  CONTENTS, 

LETTER  VIL— Answer  to  an  Objection.— Solution  of  the  Problem 
of  the  Soul  of  Beasts. — Man  the  only  Being  endowed  with  Im 
mortality.  .  . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  •  Pac;e  72 

LETTER  VIII— Of  the  Creation  of  the  Universe.— Questions  on  this 
Subject. — Considerations  on  the  Infinite. — God  only  Infinite. — 
God  did  not  create  the  Universe  out  of  nothing,  but  from  Him 
self  by  Emanation. — The  Universe  distinct  from  the  Creator. — 
Of  the  Spiritual  Sun  and  the  Natural  Sun.— Theory  of  Atmo 
spheres. — Confirmation  of  this  Theory  drawn  from  Modern  Sci 
ence.  .  ..  .  .  •'.'•?  .  .  ...  .  Page  86 

LETTER  IX. — The  Impossibility  of  forming  an  Idea  of  the  Creation 
of  the  Universe,  unless  God  be  regarded  as  Man. — Survey  of  the 
Universe  in  its  general  primitive  Constitution. — Correspondence 
between  the  Spiritual  and  Natural  Earths. — View  of  the  Exte 
rior  Manifestation  of  the  Spiritual  World. — Division  into  three 
Heavens. — Nature  of  the  Spiritual  Earths. --Changes  effected 
by  the  Fall  of  Man. — The  Fall  progressive  and  not  instanta 
neous.— The  Law  of  Transmission  by  Germs.— Of  Hell ;  Man 
alone  has  produced  it. — How  it  is  to  be  understood  that  Man 
has  the  power  of  creating  Hell.-- Of  a  mixed  Spiritual  Organ 
ism,  or  of  the  World  of  Spirits..  .  .  Page  105 

LETTER  X.— New  View  of  the  Nature  of  Angels.— All  the  intel 
ligent  Beings  who  people  the  immaterial  World,  are  Men  that 
have  originally  dwelt  upon  the  natural  Earths. — The  Formation 
of  the  Universe  gives  an  Idea  of  the  Formation  of  Man. — First 
Investigation  relative  to  Spiritual  Beings. — Of  Influx,  or  the 
Manner  in  which  Life  penetrates  to  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
Spiritual  World,  and  consequently  to  Man.— The  Connexion  be 
tween  the  two  Universes  and  the  Indestructibilty  of  the  Mate 
rial  Universe.  ;.'  ,  .!rr;.  .  .  .  Page  120. 

LETTER  XI.— Each  general  Division  of  the  Spiritual  World  in  the 
human  Form. — Does  it  follow  that  the  natural  Universe  has 
this  Form? — Simple  Survey  of  our  Universe  as  the  modern  As- 


CONTENTS.  IT 

tronomy  presents  it. — Is  there  a  central  Sun  around  which  all 
other  Suns  revolve  ? — The  Universe  not  Infinite  though  indefi 
nitely  extended V-*  •%  lff ''/'  Page  141 

LETTER  XII. — The  preceding  Ideas  on  the  Deity  perfectly  consis 
tent  with  the  Doctrines  of  True  Christianity.. — Application  of 
these  Ideas  to  1st,  Redemption,  2dly,  the  Trinity.— Sequel  to  the 
Exposition  of  the  Spiritual  World ;  Questions  of  Details.— Pas 
sage  of  Man  from  this  Life  into  the  other. — Of  the  intermediate 
World. — Digression  concerning  Correspondences. — The  Spirits 
of  that  World  do  not  live  isolated,  but  in  Societies,  like  Men  in 
the  present  World.  .  ...  Page  158. 

LETTER  XHI. — The  Language  of  Spirits  in  their  Intercourse  with 
each  other. — Digressions ;  1st,  On  Man's  Memory  ;  2d,  On  his 
Thought. — The  Language  spoken  in  the  world  of  Spirits  the  true 
Universal  Language Page  183. 

LETTER  XIV. — Of  the  Form  of  the  Man-Spirit  during  his  sojourn 
in  the  World  of  Spirits. — Why  Man  grows  old  in  the  Natural 
World,  and  does  not  grow  old  in  the  Spiritual  World.— Terres 
trial  Immortality  would  have  been  for  Man  an  insupportable 
Burden. — In  the  Spiritual  World  the  Old  Man  and  the  Infant 
become  Men  in  the  Flower  of  their  Age,  the  one  receding,  and 
the  other  advancing  to  that  Point. — How  Youth  is  renewed  in 
the  Spiritual  World. — Examples. — .The  Trinity  in  the  Person  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  true  Nature  of  his  Human 
ity.  .  Page  200. 


PART  n. 

LETTER  I. — The  Understanding  not  to  be  blinded  in  dealing  with 
Religious  Truth. — Intellectual  Conviction  not  the  same  with 
True  Faith. — Quotations  from  Swedenborg,  respecting  the  Affir 
mative  and  Negative  Principle. — Plan  of  the  ensuing  Discus 
sion •  ....  Page  215. 


X  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  II— Historical  expose  of  the  Word  from  the  Origin  of  all 
things. — True  Theory  of  the  Creation.— Proceeded  from  the 
Divine  Word  as  the  Divine  Wisdom.— The  Word  in  the  Most 
Ancient  Church  not  written,  but  inwardly  revealed. — By  the 
Fall,  the  Spiritual  Man  of  the  Most  Ancient  Church  became 
closed,  and  hence  the  necessity  of  a  New  Form  of  the  Word. — 
A  new  Church,  called  the  Ancient  Church,  instituted,  to  which 
was  given  a  Written  Word. — Embodied  the  Remains  of  the  Doc- 
trinals  of  the  former  Church.— Consisted  of  Representatives 
founded  upon  Correspondences. — As  the  Ancient  Church  de 
clined,  the  Key  to  the  Science  of  Correspondences  was  gradually 
lost. — The  Jewish  Church  then  instituted,  and  a  New  Dispensa 
tion  of  the  Word  granted  them,  but  still  constructed  on  the 
Principle  of  Correspondences. — Nature  of  its  Inspiration.— Its 
internal  Sense  revealed  for  the  Use  of  the  New  Church.Page  223 

LETTER  HI.— Analogy  between  the  Word  of  Man,  and  the  WORD 
of  God. — Difference  between  the  two. — The  Word  of  God  inex 
haustible,  because,  Infinite  like  its  Author. — Prejudices :  (1st), 
The  Jews  considered  as  the  People  of  God.  (2d),  The  Penta 
teuch  considered  as  the  Source  of  the  Ancient  Religion. — Ob 
stacles  ;  (1st),  God  represented  as  subject  to  Human  Passions. 
(2d),  Facts  and  Expressions  that  offend  against  Morality.  (3rd), 
Assertions  considered  as  unworthy  of  God :  Inconsistencies ;  con 
tradictions. — Why  this  new  Revelation  was  not  sooner  made 
known  to  the  World,  —Would  not  have  been  received. — The 
Sadducees  of  old  less  culpable  than  the  Pharisees. — The  mod 
ern  Pharisees,  representing  Theology,  more  opposed  to  the  Doc 
trines  of  the  New  Church  than  the  modern  Sadducees,  repre 
senting  Philosophy.  .  .  %."  .  .  Page  240. 


TO  A  MAN  OF  THE  WORLD. 


LETTER  I. 

LIKE  yourself,  sir,  I  have  been  a  prey  to  that  moral  malady, 
that  spiritual  stupor,  which  has  resulted  from  the  philosophy 
of  the  last  age.  All  that  you  say,  therefore,  respecting  the 
state  of  mind  you  are  in,  does  not  surprise  me.  I  know  by 
experience,  how  painful,  how  insupportable  is  doubt.  I  have 
experienced  all  the  intellectual  phases  through  which  you  have 
passed.  In  vain  we  have  recourse  to  the  sciences,  the  arts,  or 
to  high  philosophy ;  in  vain  we  throw  ourselves  into  the  vor 
tex  of  business,  or  give  ourselves  up  to  the  pleasures  of  the 
world  ;  all  this  will  not  remove  doubts  from  the  mind  of  a  man 
who  is  disposed  to  serious  meditation.  This  state,  you  say, 
is  very  painful :  certainly  it  is,  for  such  doubt,  like  the  vexa 
tion  mentioned  by  the  poet,  incessantly  rides  behind  its  victim. 
Happy,  however,  are  they,  who  in  this  age  of  religious  indiffer 
ence  feel  the  agonies  of  doubt.  The  necessity  oi  being  relieved 
from  such  a  state  of  mind  excites  them  to  enquiry  :  and  who 
ever  perseveres  in  such  an  enquiry,  will  be  satisfied  in  the  end. 
Your  state  is  that  of  a  sick  man  who  knows  his  disease,  and 
feels  all  its  attacks,  but  who,  on  that  account,  can  be  restored 
to  health.  Would  you  not  be  more  deserving  of  pity  if,  like 
the  greater  part  of  your  associates,  you  were  in  a  state  of  com 
plete  indifference?  You  would  then  resemble  a  paralytic 


LETTERS   TO    A 


who  feels  no  pain,  but  for  whom  there  is  no  hope  of  recovery 
while  this  fatal  insensibility  continues. 

You  are  disposed  to  become  a  believer,  without  however,  as 
you  add,  being  compelled  to  renounce  your  understanding.  I 
accept  very  willingly  this  restriction ;  it  accords  so  much  with 
my  own  views,  that  I  should  have  proposed  the  reservation  to 
you,  if  you  had  not  mentioned  it  yourself.  When  I  discuss 
any  subject  of  religious  philosophy  with  an  unbeliever,  I  am 
careful  not  to  say  to  him,  "  Lay  aside  your  understanding  and 
and  believe  blindly;"  for  this  would  certainly  either  break  off 
the  discussion,  or  render  it  altogether  useless.  I  induce  him, 
on  the  contrary,  to  make  all  cbjections  which  the  subject 
allows  of.  I  go  so  far  even  as  to  point  out  those  which  do  not 
occur  to  him,  in  order  that  new  doubts  may  not  afterwards 
arise  in  his  mind  j  for  experience  proves  thaf  a  man  does  not 
arrive  at  a  real  conviction,  on  a  controverted  subject,  cnly  so  far 
as  he  examines  it  in  all  its  bearings,  in  the  full  exercise  <i  his 
liberty  and  rationality.  Truths  can  only  enter  the  mind  of  man 
gradually,  and  in  proportion  as  opposing  errors  are  removed ; 
and  errors  can  only  be  removed  so  far  as  man  acknowledges 
freely  and  rationally  that  what  he  believed  to  be  true  is  false. 
Thus  so  far  from  wishing  to  trammel  our  future  discussion,  I 
give  it,  as  you  see,  the  greatest  latitude.  And  now,  let  us 
define,  as  far  as  possible,  our  positions  respectively.  I  see 
from  your  letter,  that  you  acknowledge  a  God  distinct  from 
nature,  and  that  there  is  no  doubt  in  your  mind  on  this  impor 
tant  point.  You  are  in  this,  much  farther  advanced  than  most 
persons  that  are  met  with  in  society ;  for  though  it  is  not  any 
longer  the  fashion  publicly  to  deny  the  being  of  a  God,  yet 
how  numerous  are  they,  especially  in  the  learned  world,  who 
make  no  distinction  between  God  and  nature  !  Question  them 
on  this  subject,  and  they  will  at  once  declare  that  they  admit 
the  existence  of  God,  but  if  they  are  pressed  with  questions, 
it  will  easily  be  perceived  that  in  their  minds  they  confound 


MAN   OF   THE    WORLD. 


tms  God  with  nature.  When  it  is  a  principle  with  a  person 
not  to  admit  anything  as  ex-sting  but  what  he  apprehends 
with  his  corporeal  senses,  he  is  driven  to  this  lamentable 
result.  You  do  not  find  yourself  very  happy  in  this  sad  posi 
tion,  which  I  have  likened  to  the  state  of  a  paralytic  who  feels 
not  his  malady.  If  you  suffer,  it  is  because  your  belief  is 
limited  to  the  acknowledgment  that  there  is  a  God,  the  Creator 
of  nature,  and  that,  0:1  all  the  other  questions,  you  remain  in  a 
distressing  uncertainty.  For  instance,  relative  to  the  immor 
tality  of  the  soul,  you  have  nothing  but  probabilities;  you 
have  no  certainty.  The  arguments  of  philosophy,  and  those 
of  R-iman  Catholicism,  in  which  religion  you  were  born,  are 
far  from  being  satisfactory  to  your  mind.  You  are  desirous  of 
believing  that  you  live  after  death,  because  you  feel  in  your 
self  something  which  tells  you  that  the  existence  of  man  can 
not  be  limited  to  the  miserable  life  he  leads  upon  this  earth ; 
but  when  your  attention  has  been  directed  to  all  that  has  been 
told  you  on  the  subject  of  the  human  soul,  you  find  the 
hypotheses  of  philosophers,  and  the  ideas  of  theologians  so 
vague,  so  incoherent,  and  so  little  in  agreement  with  interior 
sentiments,  that  you  are  obliged  to  reject  both. 

With  respect  to  the  interior  sentiment,  or  interior  views  and 
perceptions,  let  me  here  make  an  observation :  it  is,  that  the 
ology  and  science,  in  putting  forth  fine  treatises  on  the  immor 
tality  of  the  soul,  without  previously  giving  any  clear  idea  on 
the  soul  itself,  have  obscured  the  question  rather  than  thrown 
lii^ht  upon  it;  and  that  upon  this  subject,  the  ideas  of  a  little 
child  that  has  lost  its  mother,  or  those  of  an  honest  peasant 
who  laments  the  loss  of  his  companion,  approach  much  nearer 
to  the  truth,  as  you  will  hereafter  acknowledge,  than  those  of 
a  learned  doctor  of  Sorbonne,  or  of  a  profound  philosopher.  I 
should  not  then  be  astonished  at  the  little  advantage  you  have 
derived  from  perusing  these  treatises. 

Your  wish  to  become  a  believer,  without  giving  up  the  use 


8  LETTERS  TO   A 

of  your  reason,  shows  me  clearly  why  you  have  addressed 
yourself  to  a  member  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  rather  than  to  a 
theologian  of  the  Old  Church.  You  have  thought,  no  doubt, 
that  a  religion  appearing  in  this  age  of  rationalism,  ought  not 
to  exclude  reason  from  its  religious  philosophy,  and  in  that 
you  are  not  mistaken ;  but  if  you  should  think  that  the  mem 
bers  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  like  those  innovators  we  see  rising 
up  on  all  sides,  reject  the  Christian  religion,  you  would  be 
seriously  mistaken.  The  New  Jerusalem  rests  on  Christian 
ity,  as  Christianity  rests  on  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  It  does 
not  abolish,  but  repairs  and  completes.  We  are,  therefore, 
Christians  j  we  are  Christians  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the 
term — as  you  will  be  convinced  when  you  understand  the 
principles  of  the  Lord's  New  Church. 

Now  that  it  is  established  that  you  are  an  unbeliever  disposed 
to  believe,  provided  you  are  not  required  to  make  a  sacrifice  of 
your  reason,  and  that  I  am  a  Christian  in  the  fullest  accepta 
tion  of  the  term,  that  is  to  say,  admitting,  from  the  sinc;>rest 
conviction  of  its  truth,  all  that  the  New  Jerusalem  teaches, 
our  respective  positions  are  sufficiently  defined  for  the  present. 
The  discussion  now  to  follow  can  alone  show  to  you  what  the 
name  of  Christian  fully  implies  in  the  New  Church. 

We  might  now  enter  upon  the  subject,  but  before  doing  so, 
it  will  be  well  for  us  to  understand  each  other  on  certain  points 
relating  to  the  argumentation.  I  shall  point  out  in  this  first 
letter,  such  as  appear  to  me  the  most  important. 

You  wish  to  be  convinced  by  reason ;  to  your  reason  then,  1 
must  address  myself.  Now,  in  a  subject  so  elevated,  where 
we  have  to  treat  of  God  and  his  attributes,  of  the  soul  and  its 
immortality,  and  in  general  of  a  world  invisible  to  our  natural 
or  material  eyes,  your  reason  tells  you  that  you  cannot  require 
natural  or  material  proofs,  or  in  other  words,  proofs  which 
strike  the  senses  of  your  earthly  body.  As  for  the  rest,  I  do 
not  think  that  your  reason  will  refuse  to  admit  the  arguments 


MAN  OF   THE  WORLD. 

which  I  shall  offer.  I  will  not  depart  from  the  rules  of  good 
logic,  and  I  shall  follow,  as  much  as  possible,  the  method  of 
geometricians.  Like  them,  I  shall  go  from  the  known  to  the 
unknown  ]  and  like  them,  I  shall  have  recourse  to  proofs  from 
analogy.  Now  this  kind  of  demonstration,  it  being  admitted  in 
the  exact  sciences,  you  cannot  decline  to  accept.  Lastly,  when 
I  shall  speak  to  you  of  the  spiritual  world,  I  shall  require  you 
to  abstract  time  and  space,  as  in  geometry  they  must  abstract 
one  or  many  dimensions  of  bodies,  or  as  in  mechanics,  they 
must  abstract  movement,  resistance  of  the  air,  friction,  &c. 

If  this  manner  of  treating  rationally,  and,  so  to  speak,  mathe 
matically,  the  great  question  of  religious  philosophy,  should 
excite  your  astonishment  by  its  novelty,  I  would  say  to  you :  If 
a  divorce  has  taken  place  between  religion  and  reason,  it  is 
men  alone  who  have  caused  it.  God  has  never  reproved  rea 
son  because  it  was  reason ;  but  from  the  moment  when  man 
himself  had  perverted  his  noble  faculty  which  he  derived  from 
God,  things  spiritual  and  celestial  could  no  longer  gain  access 
to  his  corrupted  reason.  And  as  to  the  method  of  the  geome 
tricians,  how  could  it  be  opposed  to  divine  science  ?  Do  we 
not  say,  speaking  of  God,  that  he  is  the  great  Geometrician, 
that  is,  the  Architect  of  the  universe  ?  Is  not  God  the  Archi 
tect  of  those  globes  \vhich  turn  above  our  heads,  according  to 
laws  mathematically  established  ?  Besides,  have  not  the  sci 
ences  also  their  metaphysical  part1?  Ask  the  metaphysicians, 
who  have  entered  into  the  depths  of  infinitesimal  calculation, 
and  they  will  confess  that  many  among  them,  struck  with  the 
results  to  which  they  were  conducted,  have  from  materialists, 
which  they  were  before,  become  spiritualists. 

You  see,  moreover,  that  in  all  this,  we  have  only  to  do  with 
high  questions  of  religious  philosophy.  As  to  those  which 
relate  to  doctrine,  properly  so  called,  it  would  b-e  quite  out  of 
place  to  mention,  them  now.  We  must  wait  till  the  philosph- 
ical  errors  which  would  oppose  themselves  to  their  admission 


10  LETTERS    TO   A 

have  been  dispelled  from  your  mind,  and  the  spiritual  truths 
which  shall  gain  an  entrance  with  you,  have  disposed  you  to 
receive  them  favorably.  In  a  word,  it  is  necessary  that  your 
convictions  be  well  established  on  the  questions  to  which  our 
attention  is  to  be  first  directed  ;  but  be  it  well  remembered, 
that  however  strong  this  conviction  may  be,  nevertheless  it 
will  not  be  faith ;  but  it  will  conduct  you  to  the  faith  which 
God  alone  gives  to  man  when  man  is  prepared  to  receive  it. 

Before  closing  this  letter,  I  must  make  another  observation : 
Though  the  New  Jerusalem  Church  is  in  possession  of  truths 
of  a  very  elevated  order,  and  can  by  their  means,  resolve 
many  questions  which  had  hitherto  remained  without  solution, 
she  is,  notwithstanding,  far  from  pretending  to  explain  every 
thing.  The  intelligence  of  the  creature,  be  he  man  or  angel, 
will  never  be  so  far  elevated  as  to  comprehend  the  Creator. 
To  comprehend  God  in  his  infinite  Essence,  it  is  necessary  to 
be  God  himself.  Accept,  &c. 


LETTER  II. 

THE  conditions  which  I  proposed  to  you,  relative  to  the 
mode  of  discussion,  were  so  conformable  to  the  reasoning 
spirit  of  our  age,  that  I  was  convinced  you  would  accept  them ; 
and  I  would  in  my  first  letter  have  introduced  the  subject,  had 
I  not  been  prevented  by  a  motive  altogether  personal  to  your 
self.  When  an  author  undertakes  a  treatise  ex  professo,  he 
can  arrange  his  plan  himself,  and  treat  it  as  he  pleases }  but 
euch  is  not  my  task  at  present.  What  I  have  undertaken  is  to 
produce  in  you  a  religious  and  philosophical  conviction  j  and  I 
should  regard  myself  as  departing  from  my  design,  if  I  did  not 


MAN    OF   THE   WORLD.  11 

leave  you  full  liberty  to  direct  the  discussion  yourself.  I  there 
fore  waited  for  your  answer,  in  the  intimate  conviction  that 
you  would  infallibly  put  questions  to  me  on  the  points  which 
had  engaged  your  mind  the  most.  Your  letter  proves  that  I 
was  not  mistaken ;  it  embraces  several  questions  which  clearly 
show  to  me  the  present  state  of  your  mind ;  and  I  think  I 
enter  fully  into  your  intentions,  by  considering  the  following 
question,  which  is  more  important  than  all  the  others,  in  the 
commencement. 

"How,"  say  you,  "  can  we  reconcile  the  existence  of  evil  in 
the  universe,  with  the  idea  of  a  God  essentially  good  and  all- 
powerful  ?" 

Yon  are  aware,  sir,  that  this  first  question  presents  the 
greatest  of  philosophical  difficulties;  but  we  may  as  well 
enter  on  them  now  as  afterwards ;  only  be  good  enough  not  to 
be  astonished  if  I  am  obliged  to  make  a  long  preparatory  di 
gression.  To  prove  that  this  existence  of  evil  presents  nothing 
incompatible  with  the  infinite  goodness  of  God,  nor  with  his 
omnipotence,  it  is  necessary  to  have  correct  ideas,  not  only 
concerning  God  and  his  attributes,  but  also  concerning  man 
and  the  universe.  You  see  that  from  the  very  beginning  of 
the  discussion,  we  have  entered  upon  subjects,  which  for  three 
thousand  years  have  thrown  philosophy  into  despair,  and  given 
birth  to  a  crowd  of  systems,  so  little  conclusive,  that  the  friends 
of  truth  are  still  waiting  for  a  satisfactory  solution.  Still  it  is 
not  the  fault  of  Philosophy,  but  of  philosophers,  who  have 
wished  to  sound  its  depths  without  being  enlightened  from  the 
torch  of  religion,  and  who  have  not  called  in  the  aid  of  religion, 
until  religion  itself  had  lost  the  true  light.  However,  this  is 
not  the  time  to  prove  this  propositiou ;  but  you  will  often,  in 
the  sequel,  have  occasion  to  acknowledge  the  justice  of  it. 

It  is  evident  that  our  material  world,  in  its  whole  and  in  its 
parts,  subsists  by  the  sun  which  is  shining  above  our  heads : 
without  its  presence,  the  globe  which  we  inhabit,  and  all  those 


12  LETTERS   TO   A 

which  compose  the  planetary  system,  would  infallibly  fall  into 
chaos.  It  is  further  evident,  that  all  the  effects  produced  by 
the  sun,  are  owing  to  the  heat  and  light  which  flow  from  it. 
Heat  and  light  then  are  the  two  principles  which  cause  our 
planet  to  subsist  materially.  But  there  are  not  only  natural 
heat  and  light  in  our  world,  but  also  spiritual  heat  and  light. 
When  a  man  is  moved  by  an  affection,  does  he  not  interiorly 
experience  heat?  When  a  thought  strikes  him,  is  it  not  an 
internal  light  to  him  ?  This  is  so  true,  that  in  all  languages, 
we  cannot  speak  of  an  affection,  without  using  terms  which  are 
suitable  to  heat,  nor  of  a  thought,  without  using  terms  which 
have  relation  to  light.  If  we  speak  of  love,  we  say  that  it  in 
flames  ;  of  truth,  we  say  that  it  enlightens.  If  we  wish  to  de 
scribe  an  affection,  we  say  that  it  is  lively  or  ardent ;  or  a 
thought,  that  it  is  brilliant  or  luminous.  "What  other  conclu 
sion  can  be  drawn  from  this,  than  that  the  aff  ction  of  man  is 
a  spiritual  heat,  and  his  thought  a  spiritual  light  ? 

But  whence  do  this  heat  and  light  proceed  which  affect 
us  interiorly  ?  Can  it  be  from  the  sun  which  is  visible  to  the 
eye  of  our  earthly  bodies  ?  No  one  would  venture  to  maintain 
this.  This  sun,  because  it  is  visible,  is  material.  Now  that 
which  is  material  cannot  produce  what  is  spiritual.  In  vain 
would  the  materialist  make  use  of  the  scalpel ;  he  would 
never  find  in  material  organs  the  principles  of  affection  or 
thought.  In  vain,  would  he  analyse  an  affection  or  thought  ; 
he  would  never  succeed  in  discovering  in  it  the  least  par 
ticle  of  imponderous  matter.  To  know  whence  proceed  this 
heat  and  this  light,  recourse  must  be  had  to  analogy,  from 
which  the  following  conclusion  will  be  drawn,  namely :  that 
if  natural  heat  and  light  come  from  the  natural  sun.  which 
cannot  be  denied,  spiritual  heat  and  light  must  proceed  from 
a  spiritual  sun,  invisible,  like  them,  to  our  material  eyes.  You 
will  see  hereafter  how  advantageous  the  knowledge  of  this 
simple  truth  will  be,  in  studying  the  part  of  the  universe  which 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  13 

is  inaccessible  to  the  senses  of  our  earthly  bodies,  and  which 
we  call  the  spiritral  world. 

We  learn  also  from  analogy,  that  the  material  world  subsists 
from  its  sun,  and,  as  incontestably,  the  spiritual  world  must 
also  subsist  from  its  sun;  and  the  examination  which  we  are 
now  enabled  to  make  upon  ourselves  goes  to  confirm  the 
analogy.  Indeed,  if  by  our  bodies  we  live  in  the  natural  world, 
by  our  spirits  we  belong  to  the  spiritual  world,  and  as  spiritual 
Deing  is  but  a  compound  of  affections  and  thoughts,  it  is  evi 
dent  that  it  can  only  subsist  by  means  of  the  spiritual  centre, 
whence  emanate  spiritual  heat  and  light,  or  affections  and 
thoughts.  Now  if  we  who  are  yet  invested  with  matter,  can 
not  live  without  this  spiritual  centre,  with  much  stronger 
reason,  beings  purely  spiritual  who  constitute  the  other  world 
could  not  subsist  without  it. 

Now  that  we  know  there  exists  a  spiritual  sun,  and  that  the 
invisible  part  of  the  universe  subsists  from  this  sun,  let  us 
enquire  what  can  be  the  nature  of  such  a  luminary.  All  the 
affections  of  man  belong  to  his  will,  and  all  his  thoughts  to  his 
understanding ;  and  these  two  faculties,  will  and  undei standing, 
constitute  the  life  of  man ;  for  it  has  been  said  long  ago,  man 
is  man  because  of  willing  and  thinking;  it  follows  that 
spiritual  heat  and  light,  which  are  in  their  essence  love  and 
wisdom,  constitute  life  itself,  and  as  this  heat  and  this  light 
emanate  from  the  spiritual  sun,  it  hence  results  again,  that  life 
resides  in  this  sun,  and  that  it  is  this  sun  which  distributes  life 
throughout  the  universe. 

Although  life  itself  resides  in  this  spiritual  sun,  this  sun  is 
not  life  itself,  but  is  only  the  first  recipient  of  it.  Life  itself  is 
God  ;  and  as  real  life  with  man  is  composed  of  love  and  wisdom, 
God,  being  Life  itself,  is  consequently  Love  itself,  and  Wis 
dom  itself.  Love  is  his  Esse,  his  substance;  and  Wisdom  his 
Existere,  his  manifestation.  All  his  other  attributes  are  con 
sequences  of  Love  itself  and  Wisdom  itself,  as  all  the  faculties 


14  LETTERS    TO    A 

of  man  are  consequences  of  his  will,  the  seat  of  his  affections, 
and  of  his  understanding,  the  seat  of  his  thoughts. 

If,  in  this  argumentation,  I  have  begun  with  the  investiga 
tion  of  man  in  order  to  arrive  at  God,  instead  of  beginning 
with  God  in  order  to  descend  to  man;  the  fault  belongs  to  those 
who  have  surrounded  these  subjects  with  such  thick  darkness, 
that  we  are,  in  this  our  day,  compelled  to  appeal  to  the  reason 
of  man,  before  we  can  address  his  heart. 

Love  as  it  manifests  itself  in  the  creature  is  far  from  giving 
us  a  just  idea  of  that  Love  which  is  the  Essence  of  the  Crea 
tor.  However  pure  we  might  conceive  human  love  to  be, 
there  will  always  be,  between  it  and  the  divine  Love,  the 
inappreciable  distance  which  always  exists  between  the  finite 
and  the  infinite.  Nevertheless,  in  reasoning  from  what  we 
are  able  to  know  of  true  love,  we  shall  see  cleared  away;  suc 
cessively,  the  greatest  difficulties  of  religious  philosophy . 

It  is  the  essence  of  love  to  communicate  itself :  it  must  have 
an  object  to  love  out  of  itself;  for  to  love  one's  self  is  not 
true  love.  God,  then,  who  is  Love  itself,  required  an  object, 
that  is  to  say,  creatures  whom  he  might  love.  Hence  the 
creation  of  the  universe. 

I  will  not  here  enter  into  particulars  respecting  God's  work. 
If  you  would  wish  to  know  them,  you  will  find  them  in  one  of 
the  treatises  of  Swedenborg  (Angelic  Wisdom  concerning  the 
Divine  Love.)  I  will  only  say,  that  to  have  a  correct  idea, 
you  must  throw  aside  the  hypotheses  hitherto  adopted.  That 
of  chaos  would  only  throw  obscurity  on  the  subject*  that  of 
the  old  theology  is  not  even  susceptible  of  examination.  To 
pretend  that  God  created  the  universe  out  of  nothing,  is  going 
against  the  axiom,  "  out  of  nothing  nothing  can  be  produced;" 
now  God,  who  is  Truth  itself,  cannot  make  self-evident  truth 
an  untruth.  The  Divine  Omnipotence,  as  you  will  see  at  the 
close  of  this  letter,  never  opposes  itself  to  the  truth. 

The  design  of  God  in  creating  this  vast  universe,  being  to 


p  u 

MAN   OF   THE    WORDD^  ^Vv    ^   T1,j 

pour  out  his  love  upon  objects  out  of  himself,  and  fit  to  receive 
it,  let  us  first  survey  the  immensity  of  creation,  and  seek  among 
so  many  created  objects,  to  discover  thoi^, which  have  been 
especially  destined  to  satisfy  the  ardent  love  of  the  Creator, 
by  an  intimate  conjunction  with  Him.  Our  eye  at  first  dis 
covers  myriads  of  sparkling  globes,  and  analogy,  supported  by 
the  knowledge  we  have  of  the  planetary  system,  shows  us 
millions  of  other  globes,  which  gravitate  round  the  first  ;  but 
our  understanding  also  teaches  us  that  bodies  passively  sub 
mitted  to  the  invariable  laws  of  gravitation,  have  none  of  the 
qualities  adapted  to  fulfil  the  final  end  of  the  Divinity.  These 
innumerable  suns,  and  these  earths  still  more  innumerable,  have 
then  only  been  launched  into  the  immensity  of  space  for  the 
use  of  more  noble  creatures.  If,  now,  we  descend  to  our 
earth,  what  do  we  discover  in  this  multitude  of  varied  objects 
which  nature  spreads  daily  before  our  eyes  ?  I  see  there  min 
erals,  vegetables,  animals,  and,  at  the  summit  of  this  scale  of 
beings,  man.  Does  not  a  single  examination  of  this  chain 
show  us  at  once,  that  the  mineral  kingdom  was  created  for 
the  use  of  the  two  superior  kingdoms  \  that  the  vegetable 
kingdom  is  indispensable  to  the  animal  kingdom  ?  and  that 
the  animals  themselves,  deprived  of  the  moral  sentiment, 
have  only  been  to  the  Creator  means,  to  the  end  that  the 
only  creature  capable  of  reciprocating  his  love  might  exist  on 
the  earths  of  his  immense  domain,  and  there  make  use  of  all 
these  objects  of  his  divine  munificence?  It  is  then  for  man 
and  man  alone,  that  the  whole  universe  has  been  created. 

After  having  presented  to  you  God,  as  Love  itself  and  Wis 
dom  itself;  after  having  shown  you  that  the  universe,  the 
expansion  of  his  love,  has  been  formed  by  his  wisdom,  and 
that  all  has  been  created  by  him  alone,  I  am  at  length  in  a 
position  to  discuss  your  proposition.  You  might,  however, 
believe  that,  far  from  having  rendered  the  solution  easier,  I 
have  increased  the  difficulties  of  it,  in  representing  God  as 


18  LETTERS  TO   A 

Love  itself  and  Wisdom  itself — a  definition  which  seems  to 
embrace  more  than  yours,  which  is,  "  God  essentially  good  j" 
for  it  is  always  impossible,  you  think,  to  deny  the  existence  of 
evil  upon  this  earth,  where  everything  attests  the  miserable 
state  of  man,  where  all  nature  presents  but  a  permanent 
antagonism  between  all  beings.  I  am  quite  of  your  opinion 
respecting  this  impossibility ;  but  you  will  soon  acknowledge 
that  I  have  followed  the  course  traced  out  for  me  by  the  very 
nature  of  things,  and  I  hope  to  prove  to  you  that  evil  proceeds 
not  from  God,  and  that,  nevertheless,  it  is  a  consequence  of 
the  definition  which  I  have  just  given. 

Everything  proceeded  pure  from  the  hands  of  the  Creator. 
It  is  useless,  I  conceive,  to  insist  on  this  proposition,  which 
enters  completely  into  our  ideas.  Love  itself  acting  according 
to  the  laws  of  Wisdom,  could  produce  nothing  but  good. 
From  what  source  then  is  evil  ?  and  how  could  this  evil  wres 
tle  with  Love  itself,  in  which  resides  Omnipotence"?  An 
attentive  examination  of  the  very  nature  of  love,  will  remove 
these  difficulties,  which  appear  insurmountable. 

If  love,  as  we  have  acknowledged,  is  in  its  essence  com 
municative — if  it  must  have  an  object  out  of  itself  to  love — it 
also  requires  that  the  object  loved  shall  return  love  for  love, 
To  be  convinced  of  this  truth,  it  is  only  necessary  to  have  once 
loved.  Reciprocality  being  essential  to  love,  God,  in  creating 
man  with  a  view  to  shed  down  his  love  upon  him,  must  have 
given  him  all  the  faculties  necessary  in  order  for  him  to  re 
flect  back  to  his  Creator  the  love  which  he  received  from  him. 
And  observe  well,  that  it  was  not  sufficient  that  the  love  of 
man  should  return  to  the  Creator ;  but  it  was  still  necessary 
thut  this  love  should  include  in  it  the  condition  indispensa 
ble  to  all  true  love  ;  it  was  necessary,  in  a  word,  that  the  love 
of  man  should  be  in  everything  worthy  of  the  love  of  God. 
Now,  such  a  love  could  not  exist  with  man,  except  so  far  as 
man  should  have  the  full  and  entire  liberty  to  love  God  or  not ; 


MAN    OF   THE   WORLD.  17 

for  without  liberty  there  could  be  no  love.  How  can  any  one 
believe  himself  still  to  be  loved,  if  he  discovers  that  the  object 
he  cherishes  is  forced  to  love  him  ?  If  feeble  beings  who 
possess  but  a  particle  of  love,  disdain  to  be  loved  from  com 
pulsion,  how  could  it  be  supposed  that  God,  who  is  Love 
itself,  had  mistaken  one  of  the  essential  principles  of  love,  by 
constraining  man  to  love  him  ?  With  such  a  supposition,  the 
end  of  creation  has  failed :  God  has  worked  in  vain :  his 
essence  induced  him  to  create  beings  capable  of  loving  him, 
and  he  has  formed  only  automatons — instruments  purely  pas 
sive,  to  be  moved  with  wires.  Would  not  this  be  to  degrade, 
and  even  outrage  the  majesty  of  God,  and  compare  him  to  a 
child  playing  with  puppets  ? 

No :  God  created  man  free ;  and  he  could  not  create  him 
otherwise,  because  he  is  Love  itself,  and  because  liberty  is  an 
essential  principle  of  love. 

It  is  besides,  upon  this  principle  of  liberty  on  the  part  of 
man,  that  all  that  there  is  most  sacred  in  the  world  reposes — 
religion,  morality,  law.  Without  this  liberty,  religious  rites 
become  superstition — rules  of  morality  become  deception — 
and  the  punishments  of  law,  atrocious  injustice.  Without  this 
liberty,  there  is  no  longer,  after  this  life,  either  happiness 
for  the  good  man,  or  misery  for  the  wicked ;  or  God  is  a 
tyrant,  only  consulting  his  caprice  in  issuing  his  favors  or 
maledictions. 

•  Created  free  to  love  God  or  not  to  love  him,  that  is  to  say, 
free  to  conform  to  the  laws  of  divine  "order,  or  to  transgress 
them,  man  lived  at  first  conformably  to  these  laws.  All  was 
then  orderly  in  the  universe — nothing  disturbed  its  native 
purity  •  everything  in  its  spiritual  part  was  good  and  true  ; 
everything  in  its  material  part  was  good  and  beautiful 
The  other  beings  of  our  globe  followed  the  order  of  their 
nature  respectively.  Deprived  of  the  principle  of  liberty,  they 
had  not  the  power  to  disturb  the  established  order.  Man 


18  LETTERS   TO   A 

alone  could  re-act  against  God,  and  so  long  as  he  did  not  use 
this  liberty,  the  primitive  order  was  maintained ;  but  from  the 
time  when  he  began,  by  virtue  of  this  liberty,  to  swerve  from 
the  laws  of  order,  he  introduced  by  this  act  a  spiritual  antag 
onism.  Opposition  to  good  produced  evil — opposition  to  truth 
gave  birth  to  the  false  or  to  falsity ;  then  this  spiritual  antag 
onism  produced  one  in  the  material  creation  :  by  degrees,  the 
substance  of  t  things  natural,  perverted  by  evil,  from  good  be 
came  bad,  and  the  form  of  these  things,  changed  by  what 
was  false,  from  beautiful  became  deformed. 

Do  not  think,  however,  that  the  evil  and  the  false,  the  bad 
and  the  deformed,  which  were  introduced  into  the  universe 
in  these  early  times  of  the  creation,  were  like  the  evil  and  the 
false,  the  bad  and  the  deformed,  which  we  see  in  it  now.  The 
evil  and  the  false  were  then  but  a  slight  deviation  from  the 
good  and  the  true.  It  was  only  by  an  increasing  series  of 
alterations  and  deviations,  that  human  nature  at  lingth  fell 
into  those  states  of  fierceness  arid  barbarity,  which  history 
presents  to  us. 

You  see  that  the  existence  of  evil  is  easily  reconcilable  with 
the  existence  of  a  God  essentially  good,  since  it  is  the  act  of 
man  alone,  and  that  it  results  from  human  liberty  which  is  an 
essential  principle  of  the  love  of  the  creature  for  his  Creator. 
It  remains  for  me  to  prove  to  you,  that  this  existence  of  evil,  can 
also  be  perfectly  reconciled  with  the  idea  of  an  omnipotent  God. 

The  custom  of  judging  of  the  attributes  of  the  Divinity  by 
those  with  which  royalty  is  surrounded,  has  been  the  cause  of 
many  errors.  When  a  king,  abusing  his  high  station,  has 
placed  himself  above  the  law,  and  governed  his  people  accord 
ing  to  his  caprice,  undoing  to-day  what  he  did  yesterday,  he 
has  been  said  to  be  all-powerful ;  and  as  the  greater  part  of 
despots  have  pretended  to  hold  their  power  from  God,  it  has 
been  inferred  that  the  divine  Omnipotence,  being  superior  to 
human  power,  could  go  so  far  as  to  do  what  is  absolutely  im- 


MAN   OF    THE  WORLD.  19 

possible.  From  this  error  proceeded  all  superstitions:  for 
with  these  words,  everything  is  possible  with  God,  interpreted 
in  the  sense  which  I  have  just  described,  there  are  no  absurdi 
ties  which  may  not  be  admitted. 

If  God  could  do  everything,  according  to  the  common  un 
derstanding  of  the  divine  Omnipotence,  he  would  not  be  God. 
This  will  doubtless  appear  to  you  a  paradox,  but  it  is  never 
theless  a  truth,  and  a  little  reflection  will  convince  you  of  it. 
Man,  subject  to  error,  can  perfect  his  work  only  on  the  condi 
tion  of  revising  and  correcting  it.  If  he  be  a  legislator,  he 
will  only  form  his  code  after  a  long  meditation,  and  having 
promulgated  it,  his  laws  will  still  remain  subject  to  the 
changes  which  experience  shall  introduce.  But  can  it  be  the 
same  with  God,  who  is  Wisdom  itself  and  Foreknowledge 
itself?  When  God  created  the  universe,  he  said,  Be  it,  and 
it  was.  Yes,  by  the  word  of  Jehovah  was  the  universe  con 
stituted,  with  all  the  laws  which  govern  it  ;  that  is  to  say, 
with  all  the  laws  which  could  then  be  manifested,  with  all 
those  which  have  since  been  successively  manifested,  and  with 
all  those  which  will  be  manifested  throughout  all  time.  All 
these  1-iws  constitute  the  Divine  Order,  and  are  called  the 
laws  of  order. 

You  now  see  that  there  is  no  paradox  in  saying,  that  if  God 
could  do  everything,  according  to  the  common  acceptation  of 
the  divine  Omnipotence,  he  would  not  be  God.  If  God  were 
to  change  a  law  of  his  divine  order,  would  not  this  be  declar 
ing  that  he  had  been  mistaken  ?  and  what  would  then  become 
of  one  of  his  principal  attributes,  his  divine  Foreknowledge  ? 
Oh,  let  us  beware  of  debasing  the  Divinity  to  the  rank  of  a 
capricious  tyrant ;  let  us  not  compare  him  even  to  the  best  of 
kings  ;  let  us  regard  him  only  as  a  Father,  whose  love  for  all 
his  children,  as  much  surpasses  that  of  the  tenderest  of  earthly 
fathers,  as  the  infinite  surpasses  everything  finite. 

The  liberty  of  man  being  one  of  the  essential  laws  of  divine 


20  LETTERS    TO    A 

order,  the  divine  Omnipotence  consists  in  not  destroying,  but 
maintaining  it.  The  existence  of  evil  then,  is  perfectly  recon 
cilable  with  the  idea  of  an  all-powerful  God.  We  do  not  say 
that  evil  will  therefore  always  exist  j  it  will  disappear  from 
the  earth,  but  having  entered  into  the  universe  by  the  liberty 
of  man,  it  is  necessary  that  it  should  be  removed  by  the  same 
liberty.  Accept,  &rc. 


LETTER  III. 

You  say  that  the  theory  which  I  explained  to  you  in  my 
second  letter  is  ingenious  :  you  acknowledge  the  logical  con 
nection  of  the  propositions  which  served  to  establish  it  j  but 
you  meet  with  so  many  new  ideas  in  these  propositions  that 
you  are  confused,  and  you  justly  consider  that  it  would  be 
precipitate  in  you  to  adopt  the  theory  without  having  maturely 
examined  it,  and  seriously  digested  it.  This  is  well :  you 
enter  entiiely  into  my  views,  and  your  hesitation  gives  me 
more  pleasure  than  would  an  entire  acquiescence.  I  willing 
ly  excuse  the  ephithet  ingenious,  which  you  apply  to  this 
theory,  because  you  show  a  disposition  to  study  it.  Consider 
it  attentively,  and  you  will  soon  come  to  acknowledge  that  it 
is  the  only  one  your  reason  can  adopt.  Moreover  you  already 
admit — and  that  should  satisfy  me  for  the  present — that  it  is 
much  to  be  preferred  to  anything  that  has  been  taught  up  to 
this  time,  on  so  grave  a  subject ;  that  it  removes  great  philo 
sophical  difficulties,  and  gives  much  more  elevated  and  sound 
ideas  concerning  the  Divine  Being  than  any  that  have  been 
hitherto  presented. 

You  add  that  you  wish  to  make  some  objections,  ask  ex- 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  21 

planations,  and  submit  reflections  to  me ;  but  in  your  present 
position,  not  knowing  our  manner  of  resolving  the  other  diffi 
culties  of  high  philosophy,  you  prefer  to  wait  for  a  more  suitable 
time ;  meanwhile,  you  request  me  to  give  you  some  elucidations 
on  the  human  soul,  which  may  convince  you  of  its  immortality. 

You  are  perfectly  right,  sir,  in  wishing  to  arrive  at  a  cer 
tainty  that  your  soul  is  immortal,  for  this  is  the  principal 
point.  If  so  many  men  at  this  day  are  indifferent  as  to  all 
that  concerns  religious  matters,  it  is  chiefly  because  they 
hays  not  had  anything  but  mere  probabilities  presented  to 
them  respecting  their  immortal  existence,  or  their  state  after 
death.  Our  philosophers  and  theologians  have  made  the  ques 
tion  so  intricate,  that  among  men  of  the  world,  there  is  at  least 
a  half  who  deny  this  immortality,  if  not  with  their  lips,  yet 
with  their  hearts,  while  the  other  half  believe  it  only  upon 
simple  probabilities.  But  to  believe  upon  probabilities,  when 
everything  in  this  world  leads  us  to  indulge  our  selfish  propen 
sities  ]  is  this  quite  sufficient  to  give  us  a  firmer  resolution  to 
resist  evil  ?  Does  not  everything  that  passes  daily  before  us 
prove  to  the  contrary  ?  But  let  a  man  who  has  hitherto  had 
but  a  vague  idea  of  his  immortality,  become  certain  of  it,  and 
very  soon  he  will  not  be  the  same  man ;  a  happy  change  will 
soon  be  wrought  in  him. 

Suppose,  that  instead  of  speaking  to  men  in  vague  terms 
respecting  their  existence  after  death,  that  existence  should  be 
demonstrated  to  them,  by  showing  them  in  what  it  consists,  and 
by  answering  all  the  questions  which  each  should  honestly 
make  on  the  subject,  with  a  view  to  acquire  a  complefe  con 
viction;  would  not  the  most  salutary  of  revolutions  be  the 
result — a  revolution  far  superior  to  those  which  have  produced 
the  most  good,  since  it  would  be  made  without  commotion  ? 
Induced  by  their  new  conviction  to  come  out  of  that  religious 
indifference  which  is  the  bane  of  our  modem  societies,  men 
would  seek  to  be  instructed  in  true  religious  principles ;  they 


22  LETTERS    TO    A 

would  cast  far  from  them  all  the  falsities  which  arise  from 
scepticism  and  superstition ;  they  would  joyfully  adopt  a  doc 
trine  full  of  devotedness,  full  of  love.  Firmly  convinced  that 
their  present  life  is  but  a  state  preparatory  to  entering  fully 
upon  a  life  which  shall  never  end ;  and  intimately  persuaded 
that  their  state  in  eternity  depends  entirely  on  the  short  pil 
grimage  which  they  bhall  make  upon  this  earth,  they  would 
live  in  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  all  the  blessings  which  the 
Creator  spreads  daily  and  abundantly  around  them.  Instead 
of  regarding  their  fellow  men  as  so  many  rivals,  they  would 
look  upon  them  only  as  brothers  ;  devotedness  would  take  the 
place  of  selfishness,  and  feelings  of  envy  and  hatred  would 
insensibly  disappear,  to  make  room  for  charity  and  love. 
Nevertheless,  I  am  far  from  saying  that  man  would  be  exempt 
from  faults,  that  he  would  always  live  in  conformity  with 
principles  of  true  doctrine  ;  but  at  least,  man  would  then  learn 
by  this  doctrine  of  charity  and  love,  to  distinguish  good  from 
evil,  and  the  true  from  the  false ;  he  would  consequently 
know  when  he  did  evil ;  and  his  relapses,  by  producing  in 
him  repentance  and  the  desire  for  renovation,  would  help  to 
make  him  progress  in  the  way  of  goodness. 

What  man  is  there  then,  who  would  be  so  inconsistent  as 
not  to  regret  having  done  evil,  and  not  to  resolve  on  doing 
good,  if  he  were  fully  convinced  of  the  immortality  of  his 
soul  ?  What !  I  must  be  intimately  convinced  that  I  shall 
live  eternally  !  My  reason  would  tell  me  daily  that  the  long 
est  life  on  this  earth,  is  not,  in  relation  to  eternity,  so  much  as 
a  grain  of  sand  to  the  widest  desert,  or  as  a  drop  of  water  to 
the  immensity  of  the  ocean.  1  should  know  that  my  eternal 
existence  depends  on  the  manner  in  which  T  shall  have  ful 
filled  my  duties  towards  my  country,  my  fellow  citizens,  my 
family,  and  myself.  Everything  proves  that  man's  conduct 
depends  on  the  principles  which  he  has  adopted.  See  how 
ardently  those  who  believe  in  this  terrestrial  life,  follow  the 


MAN   OF    THE    WORLD. 


23 


consequences  of  their  false  principles  ;  and  judge  by  this 
what  it  would  be,  if  men  were  intimately  convinced  of  their 
eternal  existence,  The  certainty  of  this  existence  is  then  the 
most  important  point  for  man,  and  the  most  certain  means  of 
leading  him  to  religious  principles. 

This  certainty,  however,  is  not  obtained  immediately.  Man 
is  plunged  into  such  thick  darkness  on  the  subject  of  whatever 
relates  to  spiritual  things,  that  he  can  only  perceive  the  light  of 
truth  in  the  degree  that  he  removes  the  clouds,  or  the  falses 
which  intercept  it.  Though  there  may  be  little  good  will  and 
perseverance  in  him,  he  succeeds  in  disengaging  himself  from 
his  prejudices;  then  his  conviction  is  gradually  established, 
and  afterwards  becomes  so  firm,  that  every  reflection  and 
observation  on  his  part  concur  in  confirming  him  more  and 
more.  I  do  not  then  pretend  to  convince  you  at  once ;  but 
from  the  favorable  disposition  you  are  in,  I  feel  certain  that 
after  a  mature  examination,  you  will  admit  the  different  propo 
sitions  which  I  shall  submit  to  you,  however  strange  they 
may  seem  at  first ;  and  that  the  whole  will  result  in  producing 
a  complete  conviction  of  your  eternal  existence. 

Your  desire  to  be  enlightened  on  this  important  point  in 
duces  me  to  postpone  to  another  period  the  developments 
which  I  wished  to  give  you,  in  order  to  complete  the  question 
relative  to  the  origin  of  evil ;  they  will  naturally  find  their 
place  when  we  come  to  doctrinal  subjects,  and  when  I  shall 
explain  to  you  the  nature  of  the  fall.  I  must  also  before  com 
mencing,  say  that  I  shall  consider  as  established,  the  proposi 
tions  which  have  already  been  treated  of,  and  that  I  shall  con 
tinue  to  support  myself  by  them,  so  long  as  you  have  not 
positively  refused  to  admit  them  5  for  this  is  a  right  which  I 
hold  from  the  very  nature  of  our  argument. 

The  design  of  God,  in  creating  the  universe,  having  been  to 
pour  out  his  love  upon  objects  out  of  himself,  and  at  the  same 
time  capable  .of  reflecting  back  this  love,  I  have  shown  you 


24 


LETTERS   TO    A 


that  if  man  were  not  created  free,  the  end  of  creation  has 
failed.  I  will  now  add,  supporting  myself  always  on  the 
essence  of  God,  which  is  love  itself,  that  if  man  had  not  to 
live  after  his  natural  death,  the  end  of  creation  would  also 
have  failed.  Behold,  you  will  say,  a  solution  which  I  was  far 
from  expecting.  You  promised  me  new  arguments,  and  you 
decide  the  question  after  the  manner  of  theologians  and  phi 
losophers  ;  for  many  of  them  have  supported  themselves  on 
the  goodness  of  God,  to  conclude  from  it  that  man  will  live 
after  death. 

Be  good  enough,  I  pray,  to  wait  a  moment.  You  would  cer 
tainly  have  a  right  to  exclaim  in  this  way  if  theologians  and 
philosophers,  before  bringing  forward  the  goodness  of  God,  to 
deduce  from  it  the  existence  of  another  life,  had  given  you 
clear  and  precise  ideas  of  that  goodness ;  but  have  they  ever 
presented,  upon  what  they  call  the  goodness  of  the  Creator, 
anything  but  common-place  ideas,  almost  always  in  manifest 
contradiction  to  the  other  attributes  which  they  give  to  the  Di 
vine  Being  ?  What  is,  indeed,  this  God  of  theologians  1  He  is  a 
being  always  angry,  who  has  only  consented  to  pardon  the  hu 
man  race  for  the  disobedience  of  the  first  man,  on  condition  that 
his  own  Son  (innocent  of  this  fault,)  should  suffer,  in  order  to 
repair  it,  the  most  frightful  torments ;  arid  who,  not  content  with 
this,  is  only  appeased  so  far  as  his  Son  supplicates  him  for 
pardon,  and  makes  mention  continually  of  his  sufferings,  and 
the  blood  he  shed  for  the  redemption  of  men.  When  they  set 
forth  the  Creator  under  such  gloomy  aspects,  they  certainly 
cannot  be  permitted  to  support  themselves  upon,  or  to  adduce 
his  goodness,  that  they  may  conclude  fiom  it  that  man  will 
live  after  death.  And  on  the  other  hand,  what  is  the  God  of 
philosophers  ?  A  being  purely  metaphysical,  of  whom  they 
cannot  form  the  least  idea ;  consequently  he  is  to  them  simply 
a  compound  of  abstractions,  having  a  mere  word  for  their  sub 
ject.  When  the  Divinity  is  thus  reduced  to  a  mere  word, 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  25 

however  imposing  this  word  may  be,  they  cannot  be  allowed 
to  adduce  the  goodness  of  such  a  being  in  proof  of  a  new  ex 
istence  of  man. 

It  is  not  thus  that  the  new  Christians,  or  the  members  of 
the  New  Jerusalem  Church,  represent  the  God  of  the  universe. 
They  lay  it  down  as  a  principle  that  Love  itself  is  his  Esse, 
(being)  and  that  Wisdom  itself  is  his  Existere,  and  that  all 
his  attributes  are  consequences  of  this  divine  Love,  and  of  this 
divine  Wisdom.  You  will  see  hereafter — for  I  should  be  de 
parting  too  far  from  my  subject  to  demonstrate  it  now — that 
the  divine  Love  is  Substance  itself,  and  the  first  substance 
(substance-type)  whence  proceed  all  substances  •  and  that  the 
divine  Wisdom  is  Form  itself,  and  the  form-type,  whence  all 
forms  are  derived ;  hence  the  Divinity,  far  from  being  what 
is  called  a  metaphysical  being,  is  Being  itself — possessing  in 
the  most  elevated  degree,  what  constitutes  a  real  being — 
namely,  substance  and  form.  Strong  in  this  principle,  the 
members  of  the  New  Church  draw  from  it  all  possible  deduc 
tions,  and  all,  without  any  exception,  como  afterwards  to 
corroborate  and  confirm  it ;  and  what  further  shows,  in  a 
manner  not  to  be  disputed,  that  this  principle  is  the  very 
truth  is,  that  true  philosophy  and  true  theology  are  always 
found  to  harmonize  with  it ;  also,  that  the  doctrine,  all  of 
charity  and  love,  which  flows  from  this  principle,  is  in  all 
points,  conformable  to  the  Biblical  Writings,  and  perfectly 
reconciles  all  the  apparent  contradictions  which  these  writings 
contain ;  also,  that  the  historical  events  which  have  furnished 
the  strongest  arguments  against  the  divine  Providence,  be 
come,  on  the  contrary,  evident  proofs  of  the  inexhaustible  love  of 
the  Creator  for  all  his  creatures.  I  should  be  drawn  too  far  from 
my  subject,  if  I  now  entered  into  explanations  on  these  dif- 
fent  points,  which  besides,  are  of  a  nature  not  to  be  treated 
incidentally  ;  but  farther  on,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  develope 
them.  Now  that  I  have,  as  I  believe,  sufficiently  answered 


26  LETTERS   TO    A 

the  objection  which  I  myself  anticipated,  it  will  be  easy  for 
you  to  comprehend,  by  the  miserable  life  which  man  leads 
upon  this  earth,  that  the  design  of  the  Creator,  or  the  design 
of  Love  itself,  would  completely  have  failed  if  man's  existence 
terminated  with  his  earthly  life.  This  proposition  is  so  self- 
evident  that  it  is  useless  to  insist  upon  it  further. 

Do  not  think,  however,  that  by  this  I  consider  the  question 
of  the  existence  of  man  after  his  natural  death  as  entirely 
decided.  If  I  had  only  had  this  argument  to  present  to  you, 
I  should  not  have  undertaken  to  convince  you.  I  have  only 
used  it  to  show  you  what  new  strength  it  acquires,  when,  in 
stead  of  considering  the  divine  Being  as  theologians  and  phi 
losophers  do,  he  is  represented  as  being  essentially  Love  itself, 
and  above  all,  when  we  are  well  convinced  that  in  creating 
the  universe  for  man,  God  had  no  other  end  than  to  satisfy 
his  inexhaustible  love.  Nevertheless,  this  argument  would  be 
enough  to  prove  to  man  the  existence  of  a  future  state,  if  his 
mind  for  a  long  time  tossed  about  by  the  subtilties  of  philoso 
phers,  and  the  errors  of  theologians,  had  not  come  to  lose  the 
most  simple  notions  relative  to  his  interior  being,  and  the  part 
of  the  universe  which  is  purely  spiritual.  It  is  true  that  philo 
sophical  spiritualists  speak  to  him  respecting  the  immortality 
of  his  soul,  but  they  give  him  no  information  what  this  soul  is, 
for  they  know  nothing  about  it,  and  their  ideas  on  this  matter 
are  far  below  those  of  a  simple  peasant.  They  speak  to  him 
of  a  future  life  but  it  would  greatly  embarrass  them  to  tell 
him  in  what  it  consists.  Theologians  are  also  silent  whenever 
it  is  a  question  to  define  the  human  soul;  and  if  they  some 
times  endeavor  to  give  an  idea  of  the  other  life,  their  descrip 
tion  only  serves  to  frighten  children. 

Therefore,  as  I  have  told  you  already,  so  long  as  man,  to 
convince  him  of  his  immortality,  shall  only  have  the  common 
place  views  dealt  out  to  him  for  so  many  ages,  by  poets  and 
moralists,  by  philosophers  of  every  shade,  and  theologians  of 


MAN   OF    THE  WORLD.  27 

every  sect,  lie  will  remain  in  that  uncertainty  which  to  you  haa 
become  so  insupportable  ;  for  it  is  not  by  simple  probabilities, 
that  a  conviction  can  be  formed.  But  if,  instead  of  having 
had  represented  to  him  the  soul  as  a  breath,  as  an  unknown 
aerial  something,  man  had  had  clear  arid  precise  ideas  given 
to  him  respecting  the  interior  being  which  animates  him, 
which  is  himself,  and  which  must  survive  his  natural  body ; 
if,  moreover,  instead  of  the  vague  ideas  which  have  been 
hitherto  presented  to  him  relative  to  what  is  commonly  called 
the  other  world,  the  existence  of  that  world  were  demonstra 
ted  to  him ;  if  he  were  made  to  know  in  what  it  consists  ;  if 
the  topography,  so  to  speak,  of  that  world  were  presented  to 
him ;  if  the  continual  relations  which  exist  between  this  spir 
itual  world  (where  he  must  live  eternally),  and  the  natural 
world  (where  he  sojourns  for  a  little  while),  were  shown  to 
him  in  such  a  way  that  he  could  himself  daily  and  hourly  verify 
the  reality  of  a  great  number  of  these  relations — oh  then  !  you 
must  allow  that  man  by  means  of  these  knowledges,  would 
easily  succeed  in  forming  the  firm  conviction  that  he  will  ex 
ist  after  laying  aside  his  natural  body  •  say  if  this  conviction 
would  not  make  him  a  truly  religious  man — if  this  belief  be 
come  general,  would  it  not  effect,  without  any  commotion,  the 
most  glorious  of  revolutions  ! 

Well,  sir,  it  is  thus,  and  riot  by  common-place  ideas  that  I 
hope  to  establish  in  you  a  solid  conviction.  Yes,  it  gives  me 
pleasure  to  repeat,  you  will  ere  long  admit  and  acknowledge 
all  the  truths  which  I  have  explained  to  you.  I  am  certain  of 
this,  because  you  are  moved  by  a  sincere  desire  to  know  the 
truth,  and  this  desire  will  keep  up  your  attention,  and  give 
you  all  the  perseverance  which  is  needed.  If  you  had  only 
been  directed  by  a  vain  curiosity,  I  should  have  answered 
your  questions  by  a  few  brief  explanations ;  but  I  should  have 
regarded  it  as  useless  to  undertake  seriously  you*  conversion, 
for  my  endeavors  would  have  been  vain,  and  my  reasonings 


28  LETTERS    TO    A 

futile.      We  can  only  convince  those  who  desire  to  be  con 
vinced. 

I  will  in  my  next  letter  begin  the  exposition  of  these  im 
portant  truths.  Accept,  &c. 


LETTER  IV. 

In  your  eagerness  to  see  the  exposition  which  I  promised 
you  in  my  last  letter,  there  is  nothing,  I  assure  you,  to 
astonish  me ;  and  I  am  truly  ashamed  to  receive  from  you 
apologies  which  ought  to  come  from  me,  for  h;iving,by  pre 
meditation,  postponed  to  the  present  letter  the  commence 
ment  of  this  exposition.  I  will  not  conceal  from  you,  that  in 
acting  thus,  I  felt  certain  of  increasing  your  desiie  to  know 
our  ideas  respecting  the  soul  of  man,  and  respecting  that 
world  into  which  we  all  go  when  we  leave  this  earth.  In 
deed,  a  man  must  be  sunk  into  the  lowest  degree  of  sensual 
ism,  if  the  noblest  faculties  of  his  being  remain  inactive  in  the 
presence  of  such  important  questions.  If,  however,  there  are 
very  few  persons  who  interest  themselves  now-a-days  about 
spiritual  things,  it  is  not,  you  may  rely,  because  the  general 
ity  of  men  have  fallen  into  this  gross  sensualism  j  but  only 
because  the  wants  of  natural  life,  the  perplexities  of  business, 
and  the  propensity  to  worldly  pleasures  divert  their  minds 
continually  from  them.  But  let  some  event  happen  which 
may  throw  back  the  attention  of  the  man  of  the  world  upon 
this  grave  subject,  and  you  immediately  see  him  willing  to 
devote  himself  to  the  serious  meditations  which  the  subject 
demands.  If  persons  usually  keep  in  this  frame  of  mind  but 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  29 

a  very  short  time,  it  is  because  the  efforts  are  vain  which  the 
understanding  makes  to  adopt  the  noblest  aspirations  of  the 
heart ;  it  is  because  the  understanding,  led  astray  by  the  lucu 
brations  of  philosophers,  or  the  errors  of  theologians,  offers 
nothing  satisfactory  to  the  reason ;  then,  wearied  with  wan 
dering  in  the  labyrinths  of  so  many  ideas  which  have  no 
ground  to  rest  upon,  men  hasten  to  enter  again  into  what  they 
very  improperly  rail  the  realities  of  life. 

Allow  me  to  make  another  observation  :  How  can  we  help 
being  astonished  to  see  philosophers  always  moralizing,  and 
theologians  always  dogmatizing,  when  it  is  so  evident  that  the 
writings  of  both  cla>ses — because  of  the  false  ground  they  go 
upon — are  themselves  the  principal  causes  of  the  moral  and 
religious  disorders  against  which  they  strongly  declaim  1  I 
willingly  admit  that  they  are  sincere — that  their  intentions 
are  pure,  and  their  labors  conscientious — but  yet  can  this  ex^ 
cuse  them,  when  past  and  present  experience  is  sufficient  to 
show  them  clearly  that  they  are  pursuing  a  false  course  ?  Do 
they  not  know  that  for  ages  their  predecessors  have  moralized 
and  dogmatized  without  meeting  with  any  success  1  Do  they 
not  see  that  they  themselves  are  moralizing  and  dogmatizing 
without  making  men  any  better  ?  After  so  many  deceptions 
which  follow  one  another  continually,  can  they  without  being 
chargeable  with  want  of  foresight,  expect  to  be  more  success 
ful  than  their  predecessors,  especially  when  they  continually 
adopt  the  same  errors]  But  why  do  they  continue  to  wan 
der  in  the  same  cr  ;oked  paths  in  which  people  have  been 
misled  so  long?  Why  do  they  not  enter  the  new  way  which 
is  open  to  every  one  who  seeks  the  truth  from  a  pure  love  of 
truth?  Why  is  this?  /The  answer  is  easy.  It  is  because 
they  are  like  the  abbot  of  Vertot.  their  seat  is  made.  For  them 
the  truth  has  no  more  attractions  than  it  had  for  this  historian. 
Their  seat  is  indeed  made.  Can  it  be  believed,  for  example, 
that  they  are  the  men  to  forget  all  they  have  learned  and 


LETTERS    TO    A 

begin  their  studies  anew  ?  Can  it  be  believed  that  they  have 
self-denial  enough  to  acknowledge  that  the  writings  to  which 
they  owe  their  reputation  are  contrary  to  the  truth?  If  the 
abbot  of  Vertot,  who  then  had  only  his  indolence  to  overcome, 
was  unable  to  conquer  it,  how  can  they  do  otherwise  than 
yield,  who  have  to  struggle  against  all  the  exigencies  of  self- 
love1? 

This  reflection  is  not  out  of  place  here;  it  presents  on  your 
part  the  following  objection  which  has  often  been  made . 
"Why  do  not  the  celebrated  men  of  the  day  adopt  the  princi 
ples  of  high  religious  philosophy  which  are  held  in  the  New 
Jerusalem  Church  ?  Is  not  the  silence  they  maintain  on  this 
subject  a  strong  presumption  that  these  principles,  while  they 
seem  very  brilliant  and  solid,  do  not  bear  the  test  of  a  profound 
examination  V  This  is  an  objection  which  has  long  been 
brought  against  us;  but  you  may  now  see  what  this  pre 
sumption  amounts  to,  which  I  confess  may  appear  very  strong 
at  first  sight.  Far  from  furnishing  an  argument  against  our 
principles,  this  silence,  on  the  contrary,  is  altogether  in  their 
favor;  nevertheless,  it  certainly  is  prejudicial  for  a  time,  to 
the  propagation  of  our  doctrines,  because  we  have  not  always 
an  opportunity  of  making  known  the  true  cause  of  it.  There 
is,  indeed,  a  great  number  of  persons  simple  enough  to  judge 
men  according  to  their  writings,  and  to  believe  that  those 
who  establish  themselves  as  instructors  of  the  people,  are 
beings  separate  from,  and  superior  to  the  greater  part  of  hu 
man  weaknesses ;  but  experience  proves  every  day  that  the 
learned  more  than  all  other  men,  are  in  general  governed  by 
a  passion  jvhich  produces  in  them  most  fatal  results.  This 
passion  is  the  love  of  their  own  intelligence;  it  is  this  which 
even  when  they\now  it  not,  directs  them  in  almost  all  their 
'actions.  This  constrains  them,  as  it  involves  their  reputation, 
ito  say  nothing  whatever  respecting  Swedenborg's  writings  on 
the  subject  of  religion;  and  this  they  do,  because  these  wri- 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  31 

tings  contain  true  principles,  both  of  philosophy  and  religion, 
and  a  complete  refutation  of  the  vain  systems  of  philosophers 
and  theologians. 

I  ask  pardon,  my  dear  sir,  for  this  digression,  and  I  ask  it 
also,  for  those  which  will  follow,  because  it  will  often  happen 
that  I  shall  make  excursions  here  and  there ;  but  you  may 
rest  assured  that  I  shall  not  lose  sight  of  the  propositions 
which  are  to  be  the  subjects  of  this  discussion ;  and,  after 
any  deviations,  will  always  return  to  them.  Your  own  proposi 
tion  prescribes  this  course  to  me.  It  would  be  difficult,  for 
instance,  to  make  myself  well  understood  by  you,  if  I  confined 
myself  simply  to  declaring  the  preparatory  propositions  which 
I  shall  be  obliged  to  employ,  and  did  not  stop  occasionally 
to  dwell  upon  those  which,  as  they  are  not  familiar  to  men  of 
the  world,  can  only  be  admitted  by  them  in  proportion  as 
they  perceive  them  rationally.  Hence  the  necessity  of  my 
digressing  sometimes  from  the  principal  subject.  Some  of 
the  truths  which  I  shall  develope  may  excite  your  surprise, 
as  much  by  their  appearance  of  novelty  as  by  their  contrast 
with  the  ideas  prevailing  in  the  world  ;  but  do  not  let  this 
stop  you,  only  give  me  a  little  continued  attention,  and  it  will 
not  be  long  before  they  become  familiar  to  you.  Besides, 
these  truths  have  not  always  been  strangers  on  this  earth  j  they 
were  known  and  believed  in  ancient  times,  and  their  disap 
pearance  is  only  due  to  the  depravity  into  which  the  human 
race  fell,  by  the  bad  use  they  made  of  their  free  will. 

I  come  at  length  to  the  exposition  which  I  promised  you. 
It  divides  itself  into  two  parts  :  the  first  comprising  the  ques 
tions  relating  to  the  soul  and  its  immortality,  and  the  second 
those  relating  to  the  spiritual  world ;  but  as  these  questions 
are  connected  together,  and  illustrate  each  other,  I  would  have 
you  to  wait  until  this  exposition,  which  will,  no  doubt,  take 
up  several  letters,  is  entirely  concluded,  before  you  form  a 
definite  judgment  on  the  propositions  which,  at  first  sight. 


32  LETTERS   TO    A 

may  appear  strange,  or  to   have  need  of  further  develope- 
ments. 

Men  are  generally  agreed  in  the  acknowledgement  that 
what  lives  in  man  is  his  soul  or  spirit ;  only  the  materialists 
affirm  that  what  is  called  the  soul  ceases  to  exist  when  the 
body  can  no  longer  perform  its  functions,  while  the  spiritual 
ists  pretend  that  the  soul  or  spirit  survives  the  decomposition 
of  the  body.  T  may,  then,  assume  as  a  principle,  that  the  soul 
or  spirit  of  man  is  that  which  lives  within  him. 

But  what  is  it  that  lives  within  man  ?  or  what  is  it,  properly 
speaking,  that  constitutes  his  living  principle,  or  the  esse  of 
his  life  ?  It  is  evidently  his  affection  or  his  love,  which  has 
for  its  seat  the  voluntary  faculty.  However,  if  there  was  in 
man  only  affection  or  love,  without  any  manifestation,  man 
would  not  exist :  to  exist  really  an  esse  must  have  a  manifes 
tation.  Consequently  the  affection  or  love  of  man  manifests 
itself  by  his  thoughts,  which  has  the  intellectual  faculty  for 
its  seat.  Although  esse  arid  existere  are  inseparable,  and  only 
make  one,  since  an  esse  is  an  esse  only  so  far  as  it  exists,  still 
they  can  be  separated  in  thought ;  thus  we  can  say  that  the 
love  or  the  affection  of  man  is  the  esse  of  his  life,  arid  that  his 
intelligence  or  thought  is  the  existere,  or  the  manifestation  of 
his  love  and  affection.  Hence,  I  have  already  told  you,  that 
in  God,  Love  itself  is  his  esse,  his  substance,  and  that  Wis 
dom  itself  is  the  existere,  or  the  manifestation  of  his  Love. 

If  it  is  evident  that  man  lives,  it  is  also  evident  that  he  does 
not  live  of  himself:  man  does  not  produce  life,  but  only  re 
ceives  it.  And  whence  does  he  receive  it  ?  I  answer,  from 
God — from  God  alone — who  is  life  itself.  Life  is  one,  as  God 
is  one.  God  transmits  life  throughout  the  universe,  and  yet, 
no  created  object  has  life  in  itself;  for  it  would  be  a  continu 
ity  of  God,  which  is  impossible.  Every  one  is  a  recipient  of 
life  or  of  God,  not  by  continuity,  but  by  contiguity  ;  and  thus 
it  is  that  life  is  in  everything,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 


MAN   OF   THE  WORLD.  33 

object  which  receives  it,  and  that  nevertheless,  no  being  has 
life  in  itself.  The  father  does  not  give  life  to  his  children ; 
for  to  give  it  to  them,  it  would  require  him  to  have  it  as  his 
own,  and  he  is  only  the  recipient  of  it.  From  the  father  pro 
ceed  only  germs  adapted  to  become,  like  himself,  recipients 
of  the  life  which,  emanates  from  God  alone.  It  is  thus  that  men 
receiving  life  from  God  alone,  are  brothers — not  only  all  those 
who  inhabit  this  earth,  no  matter  what  may  be  their  diversity 
of  color — but  those  also  who  people  all  the  earths  throughout 
the  immensity  of  space.  They  are  all  brothers,  inasmuch  as 
they  all  have  but  one  only  real  Father,  who  is  the  sole  God  of 
the  universe.  The  learned  may  dispute  as  long  as  they  please, 
whether  the  different  races  that  inhabit  our  earth  have  pro 
ceeded  from  one  man  or  from  many  men :  their  debates  are 
of  no  importance  to  us.  The  brotherhood  of  man  is  estab 
lished  in  our  doctrine  upon  too  solid  a  basis  ever  to  be  shaken 
by  science. 

I  know  that  for  eighteen  centuries  it  has  been  repeated  in 
the  Christian  world  that  we  are  all  children  of  God  :  I  know 
that  this  proposition  is  at  the  head  of  all  the  catechisms ;  but 
alas  !  it  is  with  this  truth  as  it  is  with  the  human  soul  which 
we  are  now  considering.  These  two  truths,  because  of  not 
having  been  put  forward  and  understood  rationally  have  been 
considered  as  propositions  very  good  to  figure  in  sermons  and 
moral  essays ;  but  too  obscure  and  uncertain  to  deserve  to  be 
taken  into  consideration  in  the  practical  affairs  of  life.  Oh ! 
if  men  were  generally  convinced  that  man  does  not  live  of 
himself — that  he  does  not  receive  life  from  his  father — that 
he  does  not  give  it  to  his  children— that  there  is  but  one  only 
Life — that  this  sole  Life  is  God  himself — that  God  is  essen 
tial  Love — that  his  Love  causes  him  tf  diffuse  life  continually 
into  all  the  objects  of  creation  according  as  every  object  is 
adapted  for  its  reception — that  of  all  creatures,  man  alone,  by 
virtue  of  his  organization,  receives  this  life  in  the  highest  de- 


34  LETTERS    TO 

gree,  by  not  opposing  himself  either  to  the  entrance  of  the 
divine  Love  into  his  will?  or  to  the  entrance  of  the  divine 
Wisdom  into  his  understanding — it',  I  say,  men  were  generally 
persuaded  of  these  sublime  truths — the  "  fraternity  of  men'7 
would  no  longer  be  a  vain  term  !  Far  from  being  weakened, 
the  love  of  the  son  for  the  father,  and  of  the  father  for  the 
son,  would  be  increased.  The  son  would  regard  his  father  as 
the  true  representative  of  God  upon  the  earth;  the  father,  im 
pressed  with  the  goodness  of  the  Creator  to  all  his  children, 
and  with  the  importance  of  the  functions  that  are  entrusted  to 
him,  would  strive  to  perform  them  worthily  j  and  then  God, 
being  better  known  by  men  would  be  loved  by  them,  as  his 
love  has  so  long  invited  and  called  upon  them  to  love  him. 

By  considering  in  a  former  letter  the  nature  of  man,  we 
were- led  to  a  knowledge  of  God  :  and  now,  as  we  have  acknow 
ledged  that  man  receives  his  life  from  God  alone,  the  know 
ledge  of  God,  will  be  a  means  of  drawing  us  to  the  nature 
itself  of  the  soul  or  spirit  of  man.  But  before  commencing 
this  enquiry,  I  have  to  offer  some  remarks  to  you  on  the  sub 
ject  of  spiritual  substance. 

Among  modern  spiritualists,  there  are  some  who  willingly 
admit  that  there  are  forms  in  what  they  call  the  other  world. 
This  no  doubt  arises  from  having  been  accustomed  from  their 
childhood  to  these  forms,  the  existence  of  which  is  acknow 
ledged  by  the  Greek  and  Roman  mythologists.  Now,  it  is  these 
very  philosophers  who  are  the  most  offended  when  they  hear 
mention  made  of  spiritual  substances,  as  if  a  world  composed 
of  forms  only  could  be  anything  but  an  imaginary  world,  or 
as  if  a  being  without  substance  and  form  were  not  an  imaginary 
entity,  which  in  itself  is  nothing.  And  observe  what  strange 
ideas  prevail  in  the  present  age.  Men  are  not  at  all  shocked 
when  such  puerile  notions  are  seriously  put  forth,  and  yet 
they  cry  out  if  a  single  word  is  said  about  spiritual  substance. 
It  is  easy,  however,  to  perceive  that  there  can  no  more  be 


MAN   OF    THE   WORLD 

really  any  form  without   substance   tha 
form.     Nothing  real  can  exist   without 
for  substance  and  form  are  two  things 
be  separated  in  thought  but  not  in  reality 

When  I  said  to  you  that  far  from  being  merely  an  ideal 
being,  which  in  itself  is  nothing,  God  is  Being  itself  (E.sse), 
possesing  in  the  supreme  degree  what  constitutes  a  real  being, 
namely,  substance  and  form ;  it  was  saying  to  you  implicitly 
that  his  divine  Wisdom  envelopes  and  contains  his  divine 
Love ;  and  thus  God  has  really  a  form  which  envelopes  and 
contains  a  substance,  Love  being  the  true  substance  and  Wis 
dom  the  true  form.  If  you  now  enquire  what  is  the  form  of 
the  Divinity,  I  will  answer,  that  the  universe  being  an  ema 
nation  of  the  divine  Love,  or  of  the  first  Substance — an  ema 
nation  put  in  order  by  the  divine  Wisdom,  or  First  Form 
(Form-Type)  this  universe  must  present  in  the  forms  of 
objects  of  which  it  is  composed,  images  of  this  First  Form, 
and  I  will  add  that  as  the  form  of  man  is  the  most  perfect  of 
all  forms,  it  becomes  evident  that  God  is  in  the  human  form. 

God,  then,  is  VERY  MAN.  Yes,  my  dear  sir,  with  all  defer 
ence  to  the  philosophers  of  all  schools,  and  to  theologians  of 
all  sects ;  God,  the  Infinite  being,  the  Jehovah  of  the  Bible, 
the  Eternal  Father  of  Christians,  the  One  God  in  three  Attri 
butes  or  Essentials  (and  not  in  three  persons)  of  the  New 
Jerusalem  Church,  the  Creator,  Saviour  and  preserver  of  the 
universe — this  God  who  is  Life  itself,  and  by  whom  we  exist 
and  subsist — this  God  is  VERY  MAN.  And  it  is  because  he 
is  the  Human  Type  (Homme-Type),  the  Perfect  Man,  that  we 
his  creatures,  we  who  live  and  subsist  by  him,  have  in  his 
image  and  his  likeness  the  human  form. 

This  important  truth  is  so  different  from  the  ideas  of  the 
age  respecting  the  Creator,  that  it  will  be  difficult  at  first  for 
you  to  admit  it.  But  when  you  shall  have  considered  it ; 
when  in  the  course  of  discussion  you  shall  have  acknowledged 


36  LETTERS    TO' A 

that  it  is  the1  fundamental  basis  of  true  philosophy  and  true 
theology ;  when  you  shall  have  seen  that  by  it  the  greatest 
difficulties  are  removed,  and  that  it  provides  us  with  the 
means  of  carrying  our  rational  investigations  into  the  spiritual 
world,  and  the  internal  of  man,  so  far  at  least  as  it  is  possible 
for  a  finite  being  to  reason  on  such  profound  subjects — then 
you  will  receive  it  with  so  much  the  more  joy,  because  you 
will  be  convinced  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  you  without 
it,  to  form  an  exact  idea  of  the  true  God.  Although  I  do  not 
pretend  to  convince  you  at  once  that  God  is  VERY  MAN,  I  will, 
notwithstanding,  offer  you  some  arguments  in  favor  of  this 
truth. 

It  is,  in  the  first  place,  absolutely  impossible  to  represent  to 
yourself  a  being  without  form.  Philosophy  has  invented  a 
God  without  form,  in  order  to  explain  to  itself  a  God  as  Crea 
tor  and  everywhere  present  •  but  by  abstracting  space,  this 
fiction  can  be  dispensed  with.  When  you  shall  have  accus 
tomed  your  mind  to  make  this  abstraction,  and  shall  have  some 
ideas  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  the  relations  which  exist  be 
tween  that  world  and  ours,  you  will  conceive  that  a  God  who 
is  VERY  MAN,  can  have  created  the  universe,  and  be  perpetu 
ally  present  in  all  his  work. 

A  just  idea  of  God  is  more  important  than  is  generally  be 
lieved.  How,  indeed,  can  we  love  God,  if  it  is  impossible  for 
us  to  form  an  idea  of  him  ?  That  a  philosopher  may  be  seized 
with  an  admiration  for  the  Creator  of  the  universe,  when  he 
beholds  the  rising  sun,  or  the  face  of  nature  smiling  and  flour 
ishing,  or  the  starry  vault  in  a  beautiful  night,  I  can  easily 
enough  conceive.  He  yields  to  the  emotion  of  enthusiasm  ; 
he  ceases  then  to  reason  concerning  the  Author  of  so  many 
wonders,  for  he  admires  him ;  and  I  am  convinced  that  if  he 
endeavored  to  discover  what  was  the  inmost  of  his  thought 
during  this  momentary  rapture,  he  would  acknowledge  that 
the  Creator  was  truly  to  him  then,  a  real  Being,  and  not  a  purely 


MAN   OP   THE   WORLD.  37 

metaphysical  one  —  that  is  to  say,  deprived  of  substance 
and  form.  But  if  this  philosopher  should  tell  me  that 
he  loves  the  Creator,  I  could  not  conceive  it  possible.  To 
love,  there  mus'  necessarily  be  an  object ;  it  is  also  neces 
sary  that  this  object  be  really  present,  or  at  least  present  to 
the  thought  of  him  who  loves;  and  in  this  last  case  it  is 
necessary  that  the  presence  in  thought  should  be  very  mani 
fest.  Now  the  God  of  philosophers  could  not  be  thus  present 
to  their  thought,  since  he  is  an  incomprehensible  Being,  of 
whom  they  cannot,  by  reasoning,  form  to  themselves  any  idea 
— and  is  it  not  the  same  with  theologians  ?  Can  they  form  to 
themselves  the  least  idea  of  their  God?  I  speak,  however, 
only  of  the  first  Person  of  their  Trinity.  It  is  true  that  the 
Roman  Catholics,  in  their  temples,  represent  God  the  Creator 
under  a  human  form,  but  in  their  writings  and  at  the  head 
of  their  catechisms,  they  declare  positively  that  he  is  a  pare 
Spirit,  and  from  the  idea  they  have  of  spirit,  it  is  plain  they 
do  not  give  to  him  definitively  either  substance  or  form.  Now 
as  the  real  end  of  religion  is  to  establish  relations  between 
God  and  man,  and  to  lead  man,  by  the  knowledge  of  God,  to 
love  this  God  with  all  his  heart,  and  to  love  also  his  fellow 
men  because  of  God,  it  becomes  evident  that  any  religion 
which  presents  the  Creator  deprived  of  substance  and  form, 
(without  which  h^  is  no  longer  conceivable  in  thought),  thus 
takes  away  from  man  all  means  of  conceiving  of  this  God 
the  Creator  and  consequently  of  loving  him,  and  by  this  shows 
manifestly  that  it  is  not  the  true  religion. 

The  belief  in  God-man  has,  from  the  most  remote  time, 
been  admitted  by  the  generality  of  men,  in  preference  to  the 
vapory  idea  of  the  philosophers.  The  more  you  go  back  into 
antiquity  the  more  you  find  this  belief  prevailing.  This 
arises  from  the  circumstance  that  the  simple  and  unsophistica 
ted  man  is  generally  much  nearer  the  truth  than  the  learned 
man  who  is  spoiled  by  his  systems,  and  inflated  by  the  love 


88  LETTERS    TO    A 

of  his  own  intelligence ;  for  the  former  follows  the  impulses 
of  his  heart,  while  the  latter  gives  himself  up  to  the  foolish 
conceits  of  his  understanding.  The  belief  however,  in  a  God- 
man  has  been  charged  by  philosophers  with  pride :  they 
have  said  that  man  had  made  God  after  his  own  image.  If 
this  assertion  were  true,  we  should  see  the  simple  minded 
generally  adopting  the  God  of  the  philosophers,  and  men 
proud  of  their  intelligence,  believing  in  God-man ;  but  expe 
rience  proves  the  contrary.  Besides  this  reproach  of  pride 
cannot  apply  to  the  New  Jerusalem  Church ;  for  to  say  that 
God  is  VERY  MAN,  when  the  principle  is  established  that  God 
is  Life  itself,  and  that  all  men  derive  their  life  from  God,  is 
not  this  implicitly  saying,  that  it  is  the  human  race  which  is 
conformable  to  the  Type  itself  of  life,  to  God  the  Creator  of 
all  things  ? 

Finally,  if  it  be  evident  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for 
God  to  be  a  substance  and  form,  in  order  to  be  a  real  being, 
and  also  that  he  may  be  apprehended  by  the  thought  of  man, 
and  be  loved  by  him,  it  is  also  evident  that  if  God  were  not 
substance  and  form,  the  end  of  creation  would  have  failed ; 
for  we  have  acknowledged  that  the  universe  was  created 
with  a  view  to  man,  in  order  that  this  creature,  the  only  one 
endowed  with  liberty,  might  return  to  the  Creator  the  love 
which  he  received  from  him. 

But  is  it  indispensable  that  the  Divinity  should  have  the 
human  form  ?  May  he  not  have  some  other  ?  I  have  already 
said  that  the  universe,  in  the  forms  of  the  objects  which  com 
pose  it,  should  offer  images  of  the  first  Form  (Forme-Type) ; 
and  that  of  all  forms,  the  form  of  man  approaches  the  nearest 
to  perfection.  These  assertions  are  proved  by  the  observa 
tions  of  science.  When  we  examine  the  chain  of  beings,  do 
we  not  find  that  man  is  the  first  link,  arid  that  all  the  succeed 
ing  links  are  no  more  than  successive  alterations  of  the  first  ? 
You  are  doubtless  acquainted  with  that  series  of  pictures 


MAX    OF    THE    WORLD.  39 

which  presents  scarcely  a  perceptible  difference  between  them, 
when  one  of  them  is  compared  with  that  which  precedes  or 
that  which  follows,  and  yet  the  first  represents  the  Apollo  of 
Belvidere,  and  the  last  a  frog.  What  the  painter  has  done 
for  a  frog,  he  could  have  done  for  any  other  animal,  whether 
by  increasing  or  diminishing  the  number  of  his  pictures.  The 
type  of  man,  then,  is  found  in  every  animal,  in  whatever  state 
of  degradation  it  may  be }  and  it  is  thus,  because  every  crea 
ture  is  an  image,  more  or  less  imperfect,  of  the  Prototype 
(Type-Createur).  This  successive  degradation  of  the  human 
form  in  the  chain  of  beings,  is  sufficient  then  to  resolve  the 
question.  It  would  moreover,  be  absurd,  after  having  recog 
nised  this  successive  degradation,  ti  suppose  that  the  form  of 
God  the  Creator,  was  that  of  any  one  of  the  inferior  beings  of 
this  chain,  rather  than  that  of  the  being  who  constitutes  its 
first  link,  and  to  whom  all  the  rest  are  subject.  If  some 
nations  have  given  an  animal  or  vegetable  form  to  the  Divinity, 
this  proves  the  necessity  of  representing  him  under  a  form ; 
and  it  shows  the  state  of  spiritual  degradation  into  which 
those  nations  had  fallen. 

As  this  great  question  of  God-man  has  been  incidentally 
treated  upon  as  being  necessary  to  the  subject  which  engages 
our  attention,  I  will  not  enter  here  into  further  developements ; 
but  I  shall  often  have  occasion  to  return  to  it  either  in  an 
swering  objections  which  it  will  give  rise  to  in  your  mind,  or 
in  treating  on  several  points  connected  with  it.  It  is  important, 
moreover,  in  order  to  understand  it  well,  that  you  should 
accustom  yourself  'to  abstract  space  and  time ;  and  I  propose 
to  submit  to  you  shortly  our  ideas  on  the  subject  of  this  ab 
straction. 

I  now  return  to  our  discussion  relative  to  the  soul  or  spirit. 
We  have  seen  on  the  one  hand,  that  God  is  Life  itself;  that 
his  Life  consists  in  Love  and  Wisdom ;  that  his  Love  is  the 
first  Substance,  and  his  Wisdom  the  first  Form  (Form-Type}; 


40  LETTERS   TO    A 

that  from  the  Divine  Love;  as  the  first  Substance  proceed  all 
substances,  and  that  from  the  Divine  Wisdom,  the  first  Form, 
proceed  all  forms  •  that  God  has  the  human  Form ;  that  he 
is  VERY  MAN,  or  the  Human  Type  (VHomme-Meme  ou  I'Hom- 
me  Type) ;  and  finally  that  everything  in  the  universe  pre 
sents  an  image  which  more  or  less  approaches  to  the  form  of 
the  Creator. 

We  have  seen  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  life  of  man  is  his 
soul  or  his  spirit ;  that  this  life  consists  in  will  and  under 
standing,  or  in  affections  and  thoughts ;  that  the  human  will 
is  a  recipient  of  the  Divine  Love,  and  that  the  human  under 
standing  is  a  recipient  of  the  Divine  Wisdom.  If,  now,  we 
recollect  that  man  does  not  live  of  himself,  and  that  he  de 
rives  his  life  from  God  alone,  who  is  Life  itself,  it  will  only 
be  necessary  to  connect  these  different  propositions,  one  with 
another,  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  following  conclusions  : 

1st.  Life  itself,  or  God,  being  substance  and  form,  the  life  of 
man,  that  is,  his  soul  or  spirit,  is  also  substance  and  form. 

2d.  God  having  the  human  form,  the  soul  or  spirit  of  man 
has  also  the  human  form. 

3d.  The  Divine  Love  being  the  first  Substance,  all  things 
which,  in  the  soul  or  spirit  of  man,  belong  to  his  will,  that  is 
to  say.  all  the  affections,  are  spiritual  substances. 

4th.  The  Divine  Wisdom  being  the  first  Form  (Form-Type), 
all  things  which,  in  the  soul  or  spirit  of  man,  belong  to  his 
understanding,  that  is  to  say,  all  his  thoughts,  are  spiritual 
forms. 

And  as  there  cannot  be  any  substance  without  form,  there 
is  not  a  single  affection  in  the  soul  or  spirit  of  man  without  at 
the  same  time  a  thought  which  corresponds  to  it,  so  that  every 
spiritual  substance  is  always  clothed  with  a  spiritual  form.  It 
is  thus  that  everything  constituting  the  soul  or  spirit  of  man 
is  endowed  with  a  real  existence. 

It  results,  then,  from  all  that  precedes,  that  the  soul  or  spirh 


MAN   OF    THE  WORLD.  41 

of  man  is  a  substantial  being,  having  the  human  form  :  or,  in 
other  words,  that  the  soul  or  spirit  of  man  is  a  real  being  hav 
ing  a  spiritual  body,  endowed  with  all  the  organs  which  con 
stitute  the  material  body  with  which  it  is  clothed.  Thus  the 
spirit  alone  receives  life,  and  if  the  material  body  seems  to  live, 
it  is  because  the  spirit  lives  in  all  the  parts  which  constitute 
this  body — the  spirit  is  the  man  ;  the  material  body  is  but  a 
garment  with  which  the  Creator  has  covered  it,  according  to 
the  laws  of  order,  that  it  may  perform  its  functions  in  the 
natural  world 

Thus  the  human  form  belongs  to  the  spirit,  and  the  body 
has  this  form  only  because  it  receives  it  from  the  spirit. 

These  truths,  my  dear  sir,  will  excite  your  astonishment  j 
but  it  will  be  easy  for  me  forthwith  to  make  you  understand, 
that  the  material  body  of  man  can  only  derive  its  sensibility 
and  form  from  this  spiritual  body,  whose  existence  has  just 
been  established ;  and  I  think  it  will  be  sufficient  for  this,  to 
prove  to  you  :  1st,  that  of  its3lf  the  material  body  is  insensi 
ble;  2-1,  that  of  itself  it  has  no  form  properly  its  own. 

1st.  The  material  body  is  of  itself  insensible.  Chemists  di 
vide  matter  into  inorganic  and  organic.  It  is  evident  at  once 
that  inorganic  matter  is  insensible  j  with  respect  to  organic 
matter,  M.  Dumas  has  lately  shown,  in  his  lectures  on  chem 
istry,  that  of  elementary  bodies  there  are  not  more  than  ten  or 
twelve  at  most  from  which  general  physiology  borrows  mate 
rials;  and  that  ol  these  ten  or  twelve  bodies  there  are  only 
four,  viz.,  oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  and  azote,  which  consti 
tute  nearly  the  whole  of  the  composition  of  living  beings.  The 
material  body  of  man  is,  then,  of  itself  insensible,  since  it  is 
only  composed  of  oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  and  azote,  ele 
mentary  bodies  evidently  insensible.  If,  then,  it  appears  sensi 
ble,  it  is  because  each  of  the  innumerable  parts  which  compose 
it  is  the  envelope  of  the  same  corresponding  part  of  the  spirit 
ual  body,  the  only  body  which  can  be  gifted  with  sensibility 


42  LETTERS    TO    A 

2d.  The  material  body  has  not  of  itself  any  form  which  is  prop 
erly  its  own.  This  results  from  the  fact  that  matter  has  not, 
of  itself :  any  particular  form.  This  proposition  may  seem  to 
you  paradoxical,  for  matter  always  offers  itself  to  our  eyes  un 
der  a  form  which  seems  properly  its  own  ]  but  observe,  that  I 
have  said  of  itself.  Life  never  ceasing  for  a  moment  to  exist 
in  all  creation,  and  this  life  impressing  a  form  upon  all  bodies 
according  to  the  present  state  of  their  substances,  matter  pre 
sents  itself,  and  should  always  present  itself  to  us,  clothed  with 
a  form  which  seems  properly  its  own ;  consequently,  to  have 
an  idea  of  what  matter  can  be  of  itself  ,  we  must  recollect  what 
mathematicians  have  done  when  they  have  treated  of  the  mo 
tion  of  bodies :  they  have  laid  it  down,  as  a  principle,  that  a 
body  which  has  received  an  impulse  must  always  proceed  in 
a  straight  line,  and  never  stop.  This  proposition  is,  like  ours, 
in  manifest  opposition  to  facts :  and  yet  nobody  has  ever  dis 
puted  it,  because  mathematicians  would  have  replied  :  Abstract 
for  a  moment  the  resistance  of  the  air,  and  of  the  friction 
which  results  from  it,  and  you  will  see  that  our  proposition  is 
not  to  be  disputed.  Well  I  will  say  to  you,  in  like  manner : 
Abstract  life  for  a  moment,  and  you  will  acknowledge  that 
matter  cannot  of  itself  have  any  particular  form.  The  four 
elementary  bodies,  of  which  our  material  body  is  composed, 
would  not  have  been  combined  together,  so  as  to  present  a 
human  form,  if  they  did  not  cover  a  spiritual  body  which  has 
itself  this  form. 

This  letter  is  very  long ;  but  I  wished  not  to  conclude  it, 
without  having  given  you  at  least  some  idea  of  what  the  soul 
or  spirit  of  man  really  is.  I  will  give  you  in  my  next  letter, 
the  continuation  of  this  exposition.  Accept  &c. 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  43 


LETTER  V. 

I  presumed  rightly,  my  dear  sir  that  you  would  press  me 
with  questions  ;  but  I  am  far  from  reproaching  you  for  it,  be 
cause  the  kind  of  impatience  which  you  show  is  easily  ex 
plained,  and  is  not,  to  speak  favorably,  anything  more  than  an 
ardent  desire  to  be  released  from  your  painful  situation.  You 
would  like  to  grasp  at  once  the  whole  of  these  theories,  which 
surprise  you  by  their  novelty,  and  still  more  by  their  elevated 
ideas.  Lost  for  a  long  time  in  the  midst  of  the  dark  labyrinth 
of  modern  philosophy,  you  have  eagerly  laid  hold  of  the  thread 
which  I  have  presented  to  you ;  but  this  thread,  which  should 
guide  your  reason,  as  yet  consists  for  you  only  in  the  sequence 
of  the  logical  deductions  which  I  present  to  you ;  but  if  it 
should  be  broken — if  the  numerous  propositions  which  are  yet 
to  be  examined,  and  which  engage  your  mind,  should  not  all 
form  a  logical  connection  with  those  which  precede — if,  in  a 
word,  there  should  afterwards  be  found  a  want  of  continuity 
in  the  whole  system — how  would  you  escape  from  the  laby 
rinth  ?  Would  you  not  run  the  risk  of  being  drawn  back  the 
more  into  its  dark  windings,  in  proportion  to  the  nearness  of 
your  approach  to  the  half  enlightened  part  which  borders  on 
its  outlet  ?  The  flashes  of  lightning  in  the  midst  of  ni<rht  serve 
only  to  make  it  afterwards  more  dark.  Here  is  your  fear  ;  and 
you  express  it  with  so  much  sincerity,  that  I  should  hasten  to 
satisfy  you.  No  :  be  well  assured  you  have  nothing  to  fear ;  the 
thread  will  not  break ;  follow  it  with  confidence  and  yon  will 
come  out  of  your  labyrinth.  All  I  ask  of  you  is  perseverance, 
and  you  will  h'nd  that  all  the  other  theories  will  come  in  groups 
around  those  which  I  have  already  presented  to  you,  and  consti 
tute  in  their  harmonious  whole,  the  true  system  of  religious 
philosophy.  You  will  see  then,  that  far  from  dreading  the  ex- 


44  LETTERS    TO    A 

animation  of  historical  facts,  this  philosophy  will  itself  be  able 
to  urge  it ;  for  all  those  facts  which  have  furnished  to  scepti 
cism  its  strongest  arguments  against  the  divine  Providence, 
can,  on  the  contrary,  with  tV,  prove  very  evidently  how  much 
this  Providence  is  always  admirable  in  all  its  ends. 

I  had  at  first  intended  to  answer,  in  this  letter,  the  questions 
which  you  address  to  me  ;  but  after  having  considered  that 
the  greater  part  of  them  will  be  explained  in  the  course  of  the 
exposition  which  [  have  commenced,  it  has  appeared  to  me 
more  convenient  to  continue  it.  As  10  those  for  which  there 
is  not  room  in  it,  they  will  be  treated  of  before  we  go  to 
another  subject. 

I  shall  not  resume  the  course  of  our  discussion,  without  say 
ing  a  few  words  to  you  relative  to  the  simultaneous  use  which 
I  have  hitherto  made  of  the  two  expressions  Soul  and  Spirit. 
My  only  object  was  to  render  myself  more  intelligible,  in 
making  use  at  once,  both  of  the  word  commonly  received  and 
of  that  which  we  ordinarily  use  ;  for  we  mean  more  partic 
ularly  by  the  word  Spirit,  the  man  who  is  disengaged  from 
his  material  covering  j  and  sometimes  even  to  avoid  the  mis 
takes  which  miuht  result  from  the  different  acceptations  of 
this  word,  we  make  use  of  the  expression  man-spirit.  Thus 
the  man-spirit  or  spirit  being  with  us  the  man  existing  in  an 
immaterial  world,  just  as  soul  is  to  men  of  the  world  the  prin 
ciple  which  survives  the  decomposition  of  the  body,  I  shall  not 
any  longer  use  the  two  expressions  simultaneously,  but  shall 
more  particularly  make  use  of  that  which  we  are  accustomed 
to  employ.  I  return  now  to  the  principal  subject. 

It  results  very  evidently  from  all  that  I  have  said  to  you  in 
my  last  letter,  that  man  is  not  annihilated  by  that  so  much 
dreaded  event  which  is  called  death. 

You  have  seen,  in  fact,  that  he  continues  to  exist,  not  as  a 
breath  or  vapor  without  substance,  not  as  a  fleeting  and  im 
palpable  shadow*  not  as  a  thought  without  an  organic  subject, 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  45 

not  by  transmission  of  one  body  into  another  but  indeed, 
as  a  true  man,  with  this  same  organised  spiritual  body,  from 
which  he  derived,  in  the  natural  world,  his  sensibility  and 
his  form,  thus  preserving  all  his  identity,  taking  away  with 
him  all  that  causes  him  to  be  man,  and  only  leaving  on 
the  earth  the  external  covering  by  the  aid  of  which  he  had 
been  in  communication  with  our  world,  and  with  the  ob 
jects  included  in  it.  'i  his  is  what  we  call  a  man-spirit  or 
in  a  word,  a  spirit. 

Man  then  does  not  cease  to  exist  when  his  material  body 
is  no  longer  in  a  state  to  perform  the  uses  for  which  it  was 
destined ;  he  lives,  but  on  another  theatre  ;  he  lives,  but  with 
a  life  then  much  more  active,  and  much  more  complete  than 
that  which  he  had  on  this  earth ;  for  his  spiritual  body  is  no 
longer  encased  in  a  gross  covering,  as  in  this  world. 

This  being  demonstrated — Does  man  live  in  the  spiritual 
world  eternally  ? 

This  last  question  must  necessarily  be  settled  before  we  shall 
be  aMe  to  conclude  that  man  is  immortal  ;  for  it  is  not  enough 
to  prove  that  he  lives  after  his  natural  death ;  it  is  necessary  still 
to  show  that  his  existence  beyond  the  grave  will  be  prolonged 
to  eternity. 

You  will  observe  however  that  at  the  point  where  we  have 
arrived,  the  difficulties  which  the  question  of  the  soul's  im 
mortality  presented  are  quite  removed.  Indeed,  that  which 
is  necessary  above  all  to  prove  to  the  men  of  our  age  is,  that 
they  will  live  after  the  dissolution  of  their  bodies.  Let  man  be 
convinced  of  this  truth,  and  if  there  should  still  remain  with  him 
any  doubts  about  the  eternity  of  his  spiritual  existence,  it 
would  be  easy  to  have  them  removed.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
very  great  difficulties  are  experienced  in  convincing  him  that 
he  will  live  after  death,  it  is  because  being  deprived  of  the 
most  important  spiritual  truths,  he  has  generally  habituated 
himself  to  reason  only  from  the  illusions  of  his  senses.  He  is 


46  LETTERS    TO    A 

accustomed  only  to  admit  with  entire  conviction,  what  he 
sees  with  the  eyes  of  his  body ;  now,  he  sees  every  day  the 
scythe  of  death  cutting  down  men  indiscriminately,  and  he  has 
never  seen  one  of  hie  victims  reappear.  He  does  not  know 
that  if  everything  in  the  material  world  presents  to  us  this 
picture  of  the  successive  decomposition  of  beings,  it  is  because 
matter  of  itself  is  dead,  arid  only  receives  from  the  spiritual 
world  the  life  with  which  it  seems  to  be  animated.  He  is 
thence  induced  to  believe  that  man,  like  all  other  beings 
which  dwell  with  him  on  the  earth,  is  annihilated  by  natural 
death.  It  is  then  very  difficult  when  man  has  fallen  into  such 
a  state,  to  convince  him  with  only  the  common  views  of  phi 
losophy,  or  even  with  the  arguments  of  the  old  theology,  that 
he  is  excepted  from  the  general  law,  and  that  he  is  destined 
by  his  Creator  to  live  eternally.  But  when  it  is  proved  to  him 
that  the  soul  is  a  substantial  being,  having  the  human  form — 
when  he  has  understood  that  man  after  his  natural  death,  lives 
in  a  spiritual  body,  that  is  to  say,  in  a  body  not  subjected  to 
the  laws  of  matter — when  he  knows  that  he  dwells  with  this 
body  in  a  world  where  all  must  be  life,  since  matter  does  not 
exist  there—then  he  can  no  longer  experience  any  great  diffi 
culties  in  admitting  that  man,  when  become  a  spirit,  lives 
eternally  in  a  spiritual  world, 

To  demonstrate  to  you  the  eternity  of  this  spiritual  existence, 
I  will  satisfy  myself  in  giving  you  only  two  proofs :  one  of 
them  I  will  base  on  the  Essence  itself  of  God,  or  on  his  divine 
Love;  the  other  shall  be  founded  on  his  divine  Wisdom  in 
the  work  of  Creation.  The  first  of  these  proofs,  which  might 
.alone  establish  a  complete  conviction,  is  that  which  I  derive 
from  the  Essence  itself  of  God.  You  have  most  readily  ac 
knowledged  that  God  is  in  his  Essence  Love  itself.  This 
definition  has  pleased  you,  because  it  satisfied  both  your  heart 
and  your  reason  :  it  is  besides,  so  conformable  to  the  sound 
idea  which  ought  to  be  formed  of  God,  that  no  one,  I  believe, 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  47 

would  venture  openly  to  dispute  it.  If  then,  God  in  his  Es 
sence  is  Love  itself,  he  must  necessarily  be  constant  in  his 
love,  since  constancy  is  one  of  the  essential  qualities  of  love. 
Now,  would  not  God  give  the  most  manifest  proofs  of  incon 
stancy  if,  after  creating  human  beings  that  he  mi^ht  love  them, 
and  himself  be  loved  by  them  in  return,  he  should  annihilate 
them  ?  Let  us  conclude  then,  that  the  spirit  that  has  respond 
ed  to  the  love  of  the  Creator  while  living  in  the  material 
body,  will  live  eternally  in  the  spiritual  world.  When  I  have 
shown  you  in  what  consists  the  existence  of  the  spirit,  you 
will  see  that  God,  who  never  infringes  the  immutable  laws  of 
his  divine  order,  permits  him  also  to  subsist  eternally  who  has 
rejected  his  love. 

My  second  proof,  founded  upon  the  Wisdom  of  God  in  the 
Creation,  requires  that  1  should  previously  iiive  you  some  ideas 
upon  the  nature  of  the  beings  that  are  designated  in  general  by 
the  name  of  Angels.  If  I  am  obliged  to  speak  to  you  of  An 
gels,  on  the  subject  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  before 
showing  you  in  what  that  which  is  called  Heaven  consists,  it  is 
because  all  great  questions  have  numerous  points  of  contact  j 
and  it  would  be  impossible  thoroughly  to  treat  one  without 
approaching  others.  Besides,  it  must  be  thus  in  a  true  sys 
tem  5  for  in  order  that  its  different  parts.may  form  an  harmo 
nious  whole  they  should  be  connected  with  each  other. 

Those  who  b  'lieve  in  the  existence  of  angels,  generally  think 
that  they  are  beings  created  before  man  and  of  a  superior  na 
ture.  This  opinion,  besides  resting  upon  no  foundation,  is  an 
error.  All  intelligent  beings  who  exist  in  the  immaterial  world, 
whatsoever  other  denomination  is  given  to  them,  are  men, 
and  all  have  lived  upon  earths  before  living  in  the  imma 
terial  world.  These  are  two  truths  which  it  will  be  easy  to 
prove. 

First :  All  thi.  Angels  are  men.  To  admit  this  proposition  as 
an  incontestable  truth,  it  is  enough  to  know  what  we  are  to 


48  LETTERS   TO    A 

understand  by  man.  God  being  VERY  MAN,  and  the  human- 
type  (V homme-type)  the  name  of  man  must  belong  to  every  crea 
ture  who  is  formed  in  the  image  or  according  to  the  likeness  of 
God,  that  is  to  say,  who  is  fit  to  receive  freely  his  love  and 
wisdom.  Man  then  is  every  being  endowed  with  a  will  fit  to 
receive  freely  the  divine  love,  and  with  an  understanding  fit  to 
receive  freely  the  divine  wisdom.  And  as  liberty  is  an  inhe 
rent  quality  of  man,  it  results  {hence  that  every  man  by  virtue 
of  his  free  will  appropriates  or  rejects,  in  different  degrees,  this 
love  and  this  wisdom,  which  are  always  in  the  effort  to  enter 
into  him.  From  this  it  is  that  the  difference  proceeds  which  is 
observed  between  all  men,  and  which  causes  each  to  be  him 
self,  and  impossible  to  be  confounded  with  another.  But  what 
soever  may  be  the  div  -rsity  which  exists  between  intelligent 
beings,  whether  Ho' tentots,  Laplanders,  Chinese,  or  Europeans ; 
whether  black,  copper-colored,  or  white  ;  whether  they  inhabit 
this  earth  or  the  planets  of  our  sol;ir  system,  or  even  those  of 
other  systems ;  in  a  word,  whatsoever  may  be  the  character, 
stature,  and  color  of  a  being,  provided  he  has  a  cerebellum  and 
cerebrum,  fo  med  in  such  a  maim  r  as  to  be  able  to  receive 
the  divine  love  and  the  divine  wisdom,  this  being  is  a  man. 
Now,  according  to  this  definition  of  man,  a  definition  which 
is  but  a  consequence  of  principles  already  explained,  you  see 
that  there  cannot  exist  int  Tmediate  beings  between  God  and 
man,  and  that  thus  angels  are,  properly  speaking,  men.  If,  how 
ever,  from  a  recollection  of  instruction  received  in  your  child 
hood,  there  remains  yet  a  propensity  to  consider  angels  as 
beings  of  a  nature  superior  to  man,  I  would  suggest  to  you,  that 
in  these  same  instructions  you  learned  also  that  God  had  created 
man  in  his  image,  and  according  to  his  likeness.  Now  if  an 
angel,  who  is  also  a  creature  of  God,  was  of  a  nature  superior 
to  that  of  man,  pray,  tell  me,  what  could  that  nature  be  ?  Use 
all  the  efforts  of  your  imagination,  and  see  if  it  would  be  possi 
ble  to  conceive  of  a  nature  superior  to  that  which  is  in  the  image 


MAN   OF    THE   WORLD.  49 

and  according  to  the  likeness  of  God.  Those  who  held  this 
language  to  you  contradicted  themselves.  No,  I  repeat  it,  there 
are  not  and  there  cannot  be  beings  intermediate  between  God 
and  men,  or  of  a  nature  superior  to  that  of  man,  and  this,  be 
cause  God  is  VERY  MAN;  and  besides,  all  beings  to  whom  are 
given  the  name  of  angels,  have  the  human  form,  because  the 
first  form  (Form-Type)  is  the  human  form.  All  angels  then 
are  men. 

Second :  All  Angels  have  lived  upon  earths  before  living  in 
the  immaterial  world.  It  is  very  evident  that  it  is  only  in  a  pre- 
paratory  world,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  natural  world,  that  intelli 
gent  creatures  are  enabled  to  use  free  will,  or  choose  between 
good  and  evil,  between  the  true  and  the  false.  If  the  inhabitants 
of  heaven  could  become  guilty  or  rebellious,  none  would  be 
certain  of  remaining  there,  whence  heaven  would  be  no  longer 
heaven,  for  the  single  idea  of  the  possibility  of  being  driven 
thence  would  destroy  that  happiness  which  makes  heaven  to  be 
what  it  is.  You  will  see  presently  when  wre  treat  upon  the 
mode  of  the  existence  of  Spirits,  that  there  is  no  choice  to 
make  in  the  spiritual  World,  because  choice  has  been  made  in 
the  natural  world  ;  you  will  see  that  every  one  then  enjoys,  not 
free  will,  bat  liberty,  which  in  the  good  consists  in  doing  good 
freely,  without  fearing  evil,  and  in  the  wicked,  in  freely  doing 
eril  without  experiencing  remorse  ;  so  that  the  liberty  of  one 
is  true  liberty,  with  all  the  enjoyments  which  result  from  it, 
and  that  of  the  other  genuine  slavery,  the  slavery  of  evil, 
with  all  the  torments  which  it  produces.  If  then,  there  is  no- 
enjoyment  of  free  will  but  in  the  natural  world,  from  all  neces 
sity  it  results  that  angels  have  first  lived  upon  earths,  or 
that  they  have  been  created  without  being  endowed  with  free 
will.  Now,  in  this  second  hypothesis,  far  from  being  superior 
to  man,  the  angels  would  be  much  inferior  to  him,  for  they 
would  be  no  more  than  automatons,  destitute  of  the  principle 
of  reciprocality,  and  thence  unworthy  of  the  love  of  God.  ID 


50 


LETTERS    TO    A 


fact,  from  the  principles  which  have  been  set  forth  in  my  sec 
ond  letter,  a  being  created  perfect  would  be  but  an  instrument 
purely  passive,  or  a  machine.  It  thence  evidently  results  that 
angels  are  men,  who  during  their  life  in  the  natural  world 
have  been  rendered  worthy  to  receive  afterwards  the  divine 
Love  and  the  divine  Wisdom  in  a  very  high  degree. 

Thus  is  confirmed  anew  this  proposition,  already  advanced, 
that  man  was  the  sole  end  of  Creation  ;  for  since  there  are  no 
intermediate  beings  between  God  and  man,  it  results  necessa 
rily  that  all  that  exists,  as  we]l  in  the  natural  as  in  the  spirit 
ual  world,  has  been  created  with  a  view  to  man,  who  is  the 
only  being  capable,  by  his  constitution,  of  returning  to  his  Cre 
ator  the  love  which  he  receives  from  him.  The  spiritual  or 
immaterial  universe  being  thus  found  to  be  peopled  only  with 
men  who  have  lived  originally  upon  the  earths,  if  these  men 
who  are  spirits  or  angels  are  not  to  live  eternally,  it  follows 
either  that  they  would  successively  cease  t<>  exist,  as  in  our 
world,  or  that  they  would  cease  to  exist  all  at  once.  There  are 
no  other  suppositions  to  mak.fi ;  now  these  suppositions  are 
both  inadmissible. 

To  suppose  the  successive  ceasing  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
spiritual  world,  to  make  way  for  others,  would  be  to  suppose 
that  the  immaterial  world  might  be  no  longer  capable  of  con 
taining  all  the  beings  who  are  daily  leaving  the  earths;  this 
would  be  as  a  consequence  to  assimilate  the  spiritual  to  the 
material,  or  to  compare  life  to  death;  for  it  is  life  which  con 
stitutes  the  spiritual  world,  and  you  know  that  matter  of  itself 
is  dead  or  deprived  of  life ;  it  would  be,  in  a  word,  to  materi 
alize  affection  and  thought.  Now>  if  affection  and  thought 
can  be  exempt  from  the  laws  of  space  even  in  this  world  (of 
which  you  may  easily  convince  yourself,  since  your  affection 
and  thought  know  no  distance),  how  could  it  be  supposed  that 
they  would  be  cubjected  to  these  laws  when  man  is  no  longer 
imprisoned  in  matter  ?  The  first  hypothesis  is  then  inadmissible. 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  51 

To  suppose  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  spiritual  world  should 
cease  to  exist  at  one  time  would  be  supposing  that  that  world 
might  be  annihilated,  for  what  would  a  spiritual  world  be 
totally  deprived  of  intelligent  beings'?  And  as  the  material 
world  is  of  itself  dead,  and  has  life  only  from  the  spiritual 
v.  orld,  this  would  be  to  suppose  the  annihilation  of  all  that  has 
been  created  Now,  if  the  whole  creation  were  annihilated. 
God  who  is  Love  itself,  could  no  longer  diffuse  his  love,  the 
essence  of  which  is  to  be  communicative  ;  and  his  divine  Wis 
dom  which  is  Foresight  itself,  would  be  imperfect,  since  in  cre 
ating  the  universe  that  the  divine  Love  might  might  be  satis 
fied,  it  would  not  have  been  able  to  accomplish  this  end. 
Such  a  supposition,  which  would  accuse  the  divine  Wisdom 
of  want  of  foresight,  is  then  likewise  inadmissible  Thence 
results  the  second  proof  of  the  eternity  of  the  spirit  in  the  im 
material  world. 

Now  let  us  recapitulate  what  has  been  said  on  the  immor 
tality  of  man.  I  have  shown  you  in  my  last  letter,  that  man 
does  not  cease  to  exist  at  the  time  which  is  very  improperly 
called  death;  that  he  continues  to  live  in  the  spiritual  world, 
with  a  body  organized  like  the  one  he  had  in  the  natural  world 
— that  this  body,  of  a  nature  wholly  spiritual,  is  not  given  to 
him  at  the  time  of  his  passage  from  one  world  into  another — 
that  he  has  had  this  spiritual  body  in  the  natural  world — that 
it  is  truly  by  it  that  he  experienced  sensations  in  this  world, 
and  lhat  it  has  had  the  human  form,  his  material  body  having 
been  but  a  simple  covering,  with  which  the  Creator  had  invested 
him  that  he  might  perform  his  functions  in  the  natural  world. 
Lastly,  in  this  letter,  to  establish  the  certainty  that  the  spirit 
or  the  man  divested  of  his  material  covering,  must  live  eternally' 
in  the  spiritual  world,  I  have  demonstrated  that  if  he  should 
cease  to  exist,  God,  who  is  love  itself,  would  contravene  one  of 
the  essential  conditions  of  love,  by  exhibiting  himself  as  incon 
stant,  which  cannot  for  a  moment  be  supposed ;  arid  moreover, 


52  LETTERS   TO    A 

that  the  end  of  creation  would  not  be  attained,  which  could  not 
be  admitted,  without  accusing  the  divine  Wisdom  of  want  of 
foresight.  From  all  this  results  rationally  the  complete  proof 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 

Do  not  believe,  however,  that  I  rest  upon  tne  reasonings  which 
I  have  presented  to  you.  Strange  would  be  my  illusion,  if  I 
thought  I  had  established  in  you  a  firm  conviction,  because  I 
had  proved  to  yon,  by  a  logical  train  of  arguments,  that  you 
were  to  live  eternally.  No,  my  dear  sir,  should  you  even  say  : 
I  am  altogether  convinced,  I  could  not  believe  it ;  not  that  I 
would  doubt  the  sincerity  of  your  avowal,  but  because  in  the 
actual  state  of  your  present  ideas,  a  firm  conviction  on  such  a 
subject  could  not  be  formed  but  by  a  long  series  of  medita 
tions.  I  will  grant  you  then  all  the  time  necessary,  and  will 
furnish  you,  in  each  of  my  letters,  means  for  meditating  on 
the  eternity  of  your  existence :  for  of  all  theories  which  are 
yet  to  be  examined,  there  is  not  one  which  does  not  bring  new 
confirmative  proofs  of  this  important  truth. 

As  that  which  is  the  most  difficult  to  admit  in  this  discus 
sion,  is  the  existence  of  the  spirit  in  the  human  form,  with  a 
spiritual  organised  body,  I  cannot  too  much  insist  upon  this 
point.  To  the  proofs  then  already  given,  I  shall  add  some 
others  drawn  from  the  observation  of  certain  facts  which  may 
be  easily  verified.  These  new  proofs  will  be  so  much  the 
more  to  your  taste,  as  it  is  generally  required,  at  this  day,  that 
theories  should  be  confirmed  by  facts. 

Towards  the  conclusion  of  my  last  letter,  I  proved  to  you 
that  the  material  body  of  man  is  of  itself  insensible,  and  has  no 
form  properly  its  own.  These  two  truths,  drawn  from  modern 
science,  already  evidently  confirm  the  existence,  with  man, 
of  a  spiritual  organized  body ;  for  if  the  material  body  has  of 
itself  neither  sens'bility  nor  form,  it  is  necessary  that  both  of 
these  should  be  derived  from  the  spiritual  body.  It  remains 
now  to  confirm,  by  the  observation  of  facts,  that  this  spiritual 


MAN   OF    THE   WORLD.  53 

body  has  the  same  organization  as  the  material  body  which 
covers  it. 

When  a  man  receives  a  wound,  he  suffers.  Why  does  he 
Buffer  ?  Because  the  separation  of  continuity  which  exists  in 
the  wounded  part  disturbs  the  organization  of  his  body.  But 
what  is  it  that  suffers  in  him]  is  it  matter?  No  :  since  it  is 
of  itself  insensible.  Is  it  his  soul  ?  Yes,  since  his  soul,  or  his 
spirit,  that  is,  his  life,  is  the  man  himself.  Now.  how  could 
you.  from  the  ideas  of  philosophers,  conceive  that  the  soul, 
the  spirit,  or  the  life,  could  suffer  from  an  act  purely  material? 
Hitherto  it  has  been  absolutely  impossible  to  account  for  it :  in 
vain  explanations  have  been  sought ;  thj  physiologists  in  their 
researches  have  not  been  more  fortunate  than  the  psycholo 
gists  ;  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  have  as  yet  presented 
anything  satisfactory  But  if  recourse  is  had  to  our  theories, 
and  a  spiritual  body  is  admitted,  organised  like  the  material 
body,  all  is  easily  explained.  We  invite  you  to  the  te*t. 

Life  is  composed  of  affections  and  thoughts ;  the  affections 
being  spiritual  substances,  and  the  thoughts  spiritual  forms, 
the  life  peculiar  to  every  being  is  always  organised,  by  means 
of  these  substances  and  forms,  by  reason  of  the  affections  and 
thoughts  or  instincts  of  which  this  being  has  been  created 
susceptible.  Now  man  having  been  created  such  that  he 
could  receive  the  divine  love  in  his  will  and  the  divine  wis 
dom  in  his  understanding,  it  results  from  this,  that  in  him  life 
is  in  a  complete  state  j  that  it  is  an  image  of  Life  itself  or  of 
God ;  and  that  consequently  it  is,  in  the  whole,  a  substance 
having  the  form  of  God,  that  is  to  say,  the  human.  Observe 
at  the  same  time,  that  man  cannot  act  in  the  material  world 
but  by  an  intermediation  of  matter ;  that  it  is  for  this  reason 
that  all  the  parts  of  his  spiritual  body  have  been  covered  with 
material  substances  which  constitute  his  natural  body,  and  it 
will  be  easy  to  comprehend  why  man  suffers  when  his  mate 
rial  body  receives  a  wound. 
3* 


54  LETTERS    TO    A 

Indeed,  when  the  material  body  is  in  its  integrity,  the  spirit 
ual  body  is  able  to  act  freely  according  to  internal  impulses ; 
but  if  the  material  body  is  hurt,  whether  by  contusion,  by  in 
cision,  or  in  any  other  manner,  the  action  of  the  spiritual  body 
not  being  able  to  put  itself  forth  freely,  there  is  pain,  suffer 
ing.  If,  for  example,  there  is  separation  of  continuity  in  a 
part  of  the  material  body,  there  is  not,  in  truth,  on  that  ac 
count  separation  of  continuity  in  the  corresponding  part  of  the 
spiritual  body,  but  this  body  being  no  longer  able  to  act  in  our 
world  by  the  injured  part  of  the  material  body,  there  is  pain 
so  much  the  more  acute,  so  much  the  more  severe,  as  the  dis 
turbance  is  great  j  and  this  pain  may  even  affect  the  whole 
organization  of  the  spiritual  body,  if  the  injury  is  of  a  nature 
to  disturb  its  general  action.  If,  moreover,  the  injured  part 
is  an  organ  indispensable  to  the  general  action  of  the  spiritual 
body,  such  as  the  heart,  for  example,  or  such  as  the  lungs,  the 
material  body,  not  being  of  any  further  use  to  the  spiritual 
body  for  acting  in  our  world,  it  is  impossible  that  the  two 
bodies  should  remain  longer  united.  Then  the  separation 
takes  place ;  the  material  body  being  then  nothing  more  than 
a  corpse,  and  the  spiritual  body  disengaged  from  the  bonds 
which  confined  it  in  the  natural  world,  at  once  exists  without 
the  need  of  translation,  in  the  spiritual  world. 

Let  me  support  what  has  been  said  by  a  phenomenon 
which  has  often  been  produced.  You  have  no  doubt  conversed 
with  soldiers  who  have  suffered  amputation  of  their  limbs  ;  our 
late  wars  have  unhappily  but  too  much  increased  their  num 
ber.  Have  you  not  often  heard  these  brave  men  complain  of 
severe  pains  which  they  experienced  in  the  heel  or  the  toe, 
though  their  leg  has  been  left  many  years  since  in  the  field  of 
Austerlitz  or  the  plains  of  Leipsic  ?  Has  it  not  sometimes  hap- 
p  'iied  to  you  to  see  them  even — so  strong  is  the  impression — 
suddenly  cairy  the  hand  to  the  part  affected,  with  the  intention 
of  compressing  there  the  pain,  and  have  you  not  then  per- 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  55 

ceived  their  disappointment  when,  for  the  hundredth  time 
perhaps,  they  seized  nothing  but  a  piece  of  insensible  wood  ? 
If  you  have  never  witnessed  such  facts,  ask  the  first  person 
who  has  suffered  the  loss  of  a  limb,  and  he  will  confirm  you 
in  the  reality  of  it.  If  afterwards,  struck  with  this  extraordi 
nary  phenomenon,  you  would  desire  to  know  the  cause,  would 
you  inquire  of  science  ?  You  would  receive  no  satisfactory 
answer.  Should  you  be  more  fortunate  in  consulting  philoso 
phy'?  Philosophy  would  be  dumb.  But  have  recourse  to  the 
principles  which  I  have  explained,  and  you  will  easily  obtain 
an  explanation  which  will  satisfy  your  reason. 

The  amputation  of  a  leg  or  of  any  other  member  of  the  ma 
terial  body,  cannot  deprive  the  spiritual  body  of  this  member. 
The  person  who  has  lost  a  limb  preserves  then  his  spiritual 
body  in  its  integrity  j  if  the  spiritual  limb  is  not  visible  to  the 
eyes  of  our  material  body,  it  is  because  the  material  is  not  ca 
pable  of  seeing  anything  but  what  is  material.  It  is  not,  it  is 
true,  the  material  eye  which  sees ;  it  is  the  spiritual  eye ;  but 
as  in  general  the  spiritual  eye  cannot  see  in  our  world  but  by 
the  medium  of  the  material  covering,  for  this  reason  I  say 
that  the  material  can  see  nothing  but  what  is  material.  Now, 
since  the  spiritual  leg  of  the  person  amputated  always  exists, 
though  invisible  to  the  eyes  of  our  body,  it  is  not  astonishing 
that  this  leg,  or  even  its  extremity,  should  be  affected  with  a 
pain  of  which  the  amputated  person  will  experience  the  sen 
sation  ;  it  is  the  spiritual  body  which  suffers  in  him,  and  not 
the  material.  Besides,  as  there  are  circumstances  where,  with 
those  who  enjoy  their  material  limbs,  a  pain  ii\  the  superior 
parts  extends  even  to  the  heel  or  the  toe,  and  becomes  even 
more  severe  in  these  extreme  parts,  it  may  clearly  be  seen 
that  it  should  be  the  same  in  like  circumstances,  though  the 
material  leg  no  longer  exists. 

According  to  the  same  principle  of  the  integrity  of  the  spir 
itual  body,  notwithstanding   the   mutilation    of  the   material 


56  LETTERS  TO  A 

body,  the  man  who  has  been  deprived  of  his  material  eyes, 
preserves  his  spiritual  eyes  entire,  he  is  only  blind  as  to  that 
which  concerns  the  objects  of  this  world.  He  does  not  see 
these  objects,  because  the  spiritual  eye,  as  I  have  told  you, 
cannot  see  in  the  material  world  but  by  the  medium  of  the 
material  organ  of  vision,  and  this  organ  failing,  the  phenome 
non  of  natural  vision  ceases  immediately.  In  like  manner, 
the  deaf  man  does  not  hear,  because  the  spiritual  ear  cannot 
perceive  the  sounds  of  the  natural  world  but  by  the  intermedi 
ation  of  the  material  organ  of  hearing,  and  if  this  organ  is 
hurt,  deafness  ensues  :  but  the  deaf  man  preserves  entire  the 
spiritual  organ  of  hearing. 

If  during  sleep  the  blind  man  has  had  a  dream  and  retains 
the  recollection  of  his  dream,  he  then  acknowledges  that  he 
saw  objects  which  were  presented  to  him  as  distinctly  as  he 
saw  natural  objects  when  he  had  the  use  of  his  eyes.  The 
deaf  man  acknowledges  also,  when  he  retains  the  recollection 
of  his  dream,  that  he  then  perceived  sounds  as  distinctly  as  he 
perceived  natural  sounds  before  his  state  of  deafness.  How 
are  we  to  explain  these  facts  ?  It  will  be  said  without  doubt 
that  they  are  the  effects  of  the  imagination  ;  but  then  what  is 
this  imagination  ?  It  would  be  very  difficult  to  answer  the  ques 
tion.  The  imagination  is  often  suggested  as  a  reason  :  it  is  a 
word  which  the  philosophy  of  the  day  highly  esteems,  for  it 
serves  to  withdraw  it  from  embarrassments  when  it  is  pushed 
to  its  last  entrenchments ;  but  it  is  very  evident  that  to  attri 
bute  such  facts  to  the  imagination,  would  be  evading  the  ques 
tion,  and  not  resolving  it.  To  explain  now  to  you  the  theory 
of  dreams,  would  be  digressing  too  far  from  my  subject ;  we 
will  examine  it  together  hereafter  ;  I  will  only  say  that  gene 
rally  in  dreams,  it  is  the  spiritual  body  of  man  which  is  alone 
active,  and  this  is  sufficient  to  give  an  explanation  of  the  facts 
respecting  the  sight  of  the  blind  and  hearing  of  the  deaf. 


MAN   OF    THE   WORLD.  57 

The  blind  man  sees  then  with  his  spiritual  eyes,  and  the  deaf 
man  hears  with  his  spiritual  ears. 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  confirmative  proofs  of  the  ex 
istence  in  man  of  an  organized  spiritual  body,  by  explaining 
the  extraordinary  facts  which  some  new  branches  of  science 
reveal ;  but  I  should  be  drawn  into  too  long  a  digression,  for 
these  new  branches  of  science  being  yet  for  the  most  part 
devoid  of  theories,  and  presenting,  to  say  the  least,  as  many 
inconveniences  as  disadvantages,  I  could  not  speak  of  them 
without  specifically  pointing  them  out,  which  would  cause 
you  to  lose  sight  of  the  exposition  which  now  engages  our  at 
tention.  Nevertheless,  when  you  become  acquainted  with 
the  order  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  the  mode  of  existence  of 
its  inhabitants,  you  will  always  find  me  disposed  to  reply  to 
the  questions  which  you  may  think  proper  to  ask  on  the  sub 
ject  of  these  new  discoveries,  and  I  will  take  care  to  put  you 
on  your  guard  against  the  dangers  which  they  may  present. 

Accept,  &c. 


LETTER  VI. 

Although  you  have  acknowledged  the  force  and  stability  of 
the  proofs  which  I  have  given  you  concerning  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  yet  I  could  not  hope  to  establish  an  unshaken  con-* 
viction  on  this  j  oint,  if  there  were  not  in  reserve  some  other 
means  of  strengthening  that  which  you  confess  begins  to  be 
formed  within  you.  Of  what  use  would  it  have  been  to  have 
proved  to  you  that  your  material  body  is  only  an  envelope, 
and  to  have  shown  you  that  this  envelope,  though  necessary 
to  your  present  existence,  is  not  indispensable  to  constitute  the 


58  LETTERS    TO    A 

real  life,  of  which  the  life  of  this  world  is  but  the  first  link  ? 
Of  what  use  would  it  have  been  to  have  convinced  you  that 
there  exists  in  you  a  spiritual  body — that  this  body  is  ab 
solutely  organized  like  your  body  of  flesh,  and  that  it  is  as  in 
destructible  as  everything  else  which  is  of  a  spiritual  nature  ? 
Of  what  use  would  these  truths  be,  if  I  were  not  to  make  you 
acquainted  with  the  spiritual  world,  of  which  it  is  yet  im 
possible  lor  you  to  form  an  idea  I — if  I  were  not  to  place  be 
fore  your  eyes  this  new  theatre  upon  which  your  man-spirit 
must  exercise  to  all  eternitv  the  functions  of  his  immaterial 
nature  ?  Without  a  knowledge  of  that  world,  how  could  you 
combat  in  yourself  the  objections  of  every  kind  which  would 
come  in  crowds  to  assail  your  first  conviction  ?  One  day  you 
would  believe,  the  next  deny. 

Far  from  having  brought  relief  to  your  position,  I  should 
only  have  rendered  it  the  more  intolerable,  by  exciting  in  you 
a  desire  to  believe,  without  presenting  to  you  all  that  is  neces 
sary  to  establish  and  confirm  your  faith.  You  would  have 
had  a  right  to  say  to  me  :  "  This  breath,  or  this  vapory  being 
of  philosophers  and  theologians,  I  thought  little  about,  since  it 
is  impossible  to  form  a  clear  idea  of  it ;  I  thought  no  more 
about  angels,  whom  they  represent  in  human  form,  for  the 
wings  which  they  give  to  them  show  plainly  enough  that  they 
are  but  pure  fictions.  However,  I  might  have  been  able  in 
some  degree  by  an  effort  of  the  imagination,  to  represent  to 
myself,  in  the  midst  of  the  immensity  of  the  etherial  regions, 
souls  wandering  here  and  there,  and  angels  flapping  or  poising 
their  wings  to  support  their  bodies.  But  your  men-spirits, 
and  your  angels  in  a  perfect  human  form,  what  idea  can  I 
form  of  their  existence  ?  Philosophers  and  theologians  place 
but  little  stress  on  their  lucubrations  relative  to  the  nature  of 
the  soulj  almost  all  confess  that  they  are  far  from  relying 
with  certainty  upon  what  they  advance,  while  you  on  the 
contrary,  appear  to  have  not  the  least  doubt  of  your  assertions 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  59 

Hasten,  then,  to  draw  me  from  this  position,  or  else,  while 
wishing  to  relieve  me  of  my  doubts,  you  will  but  have  in 
creased  them." 

With  great  propriety  would  you  thus  address  me,  if  I  should 
delay  satisfying  the  desire  you  must  have  to  know  something 
of  this  spiritual  world :  therefore  I  am  anxious  to  give  you 
some  ideas  which  will  enable  you  at  once  to  comprehend  the 
the  whole.  You  will  see  then  that  the  spirit,  disengaged  frum 
the  matter  with  which  it  is  here  covered,  possesses  all  that 
which  is  necessary  for  its  existence  ;  and  that  the  life  which 
it  enjoys  is  much  more  complete  than  that  which  it  had  upon 
this  earth. 

It  would,  withrut  doubt,  be  easier  to  present  to  you  these 
views,  if  you  were  acquainted  with  our  theory  of  degrees,  and 
our  manner  of  regarding  space  and  time  ;  but  in  your  present 
state,  it  is  necessary  to  proceed  at  once  to  the  subject;  I 
shall?  therefore,  enter  upon  it  without  any  preliminary  re 
marks. 

The  knowledge  which  we  have  of  the  man-spirit  will  con 
duct  us  directly  to  that  of  the  spiritual  world.  In  this,  it  will 
be  sufficient  to  follow  the  law  of  analogy,  for  there  must  exist, 
between  the  spiritual  and  the  material  worlds,  relations  anal 
ogous  to  those  which  exist  between  the  spirit  and  the  material 
body.  Now  if  the  spirit  is  a  real  man,  if  the  form  of  the  ma 
terial  body  belongs  to  the  spirit,  and  these  are  two  truths  which 
we  have  acknowledged,  we  must  thence  conclude  that  the 
spiritual  world  is  a  real  world,  and  that  the  form  of  the  mate 
rial  world  belongs  to  the  spiritual  world. 

Indeed,  from  this  alone,  that  you  have  acknowledged  the 
truths  which  concern  the  man-spirit,  you  are  forced  to  admit 
the  correlative  truths  which  apply  to  the  spiritual  world.  If, 
as  the  discoveries  of  modern  science  prove,  the  matter  of 
which  our  body  is  composed,  is  of  itself  insensible,  and  has 
of  itself  no  particular  form,  with  much  stronger  reason  must 


60  LETTERS   TO    A 

it  be  the  same  with  inorganic  matter.  If  the  material  body 
does  not  live  of  itself,  how  can  the  other  objects  of  nature  have 
existence  of  themselves,  and  how  can  nature,  in  the  complex, 
exist  of  itself?  If  the  matter  which  composes  our  bodies  has 
not  form  of  itself,  how  can  that  which  constitutes  the  other 
bodies  of  nature,  of  itself  present  to  us  the  indefinite  variety 
of  forms  which  charm  our  sight,  and  how  can  the  whole  of 
nature  have  a  form  ?  All  the  objects  which  exist  in  our  world 
receive,  then,  their  form  from  objects  similar,  or  properly  cor- 
responding  which  are  in  the  spiritual  world.  I  say  correspond 
ing  for  thoir  h  the  things  in  the  spiritual  world  appear  like 
those  which  are  in  ours,  it  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  they 
differ  from  them  in  this,  that  they  have  in  them  life,  because 
they  exist  and  subsist  from  thv  spiritual  sun,  in  the  interior  of 
which  resides  the  Divinity ;  while  the  things  of  the  natural 
world,  existing  and  subsisting  from  the  material  sun,  have  no 
life  in  them,  but  what  they  receive  by  the  intermediation  of 
the  spiritual  world. 

Since,  according  to  this,  there  cannot  be  in  our  world  a  sin 
gle  object  which  is  not  the  correspondent  of  an  object  existing 
in  the  spiritual  world,  in  reality,  that  is  to  say,  in  substance 
and  form,  the  strict  consequence  which  we  must  thence  draw 
is,  that  there  is  in  that  world,  as  in  ours,  stars  which  appear 
fixed  in  an  azure  vault,  a  horizon  with  its  zenith,  atmos 
pheres  with  their  meteors,  countries  watered  by  rivers,  seas 
confined  to  their  limits  by  coasts,  the  three  kingdoms  with 
all  that  constitutes  them,  and  the  indefinite  variety  of  all  the 
objects  of  art,  which  result  from  the  labors  of  man.  Thus, 
my  dear  sir,  if  until  this  moment,  as  I  have  supposed  at  the 
commencement  of  this  letter,  you  had  not  been  able  to  form 
in  yourself  an  idea  of  the  existence  of  men-spirits ;  if  you  had 
not  known  where  to  place  these  spiritual  bodies,  organized 
like  our  material  bodies,  you  see  now,  that  by  means  of  these 
objects,  which  are  all  of  an  immaterial  nature,  men-spirits 


MAN  OF    THE   WORLD.  61 

enjoy  a  real  existence,  which  it  is  no  longer  impossible  to 
comprehend.  You  see,  also,  that  far  from  being  lost  in  a  va 
pory  immensity,  they  exist  upon  a  solid  earth,  and  are  sur 
rounded  with  real  objects ,  for  the  earth  upon  which  they 
walk,  the  houses  which  they  inhabit,  the  air  which  they 
breathe,  and  all  the  objects  in  general  which  are  before  their 
eyes,  or  which  they  touch,  are  then  for  them  as  real  as  our 
earth,  our  habitations,  the  air,  and  all  that  which  surrounds  us 
is  now  real  for  us. 

You  will,  without  doubt,  be  as  much  astonished  in  learning 
these  things,  as  you  were  when  I  announced  to  you  that  your 
soul  or  your  spirit  is  a  real  man,  having  a  spiritual  organiza 
tion,  like  that  of  your  terrestrial  body.  Nevertheless,  the  first 
truth  must  have  served  to  prepare  you  for  the  second;  for 
these  are,  as  I  have  told  you,  two  correlative  truths,  and  the 
admission  of  the  one,  necessarily  draws  after  it  that  of  the 
other.  Your  astonishment  would  be  still  greater,  if  I  should 
at  once  make  you  acquainted  with  this  spiritual  world  in  all 
its  details  j  but  before  presenting  you  with  the  details,  I  must 
endeavor  to  convince  you  of  the  reality  of  the  whole. 

As  you  read  that  which  precedes,  your  mind,  it  seems  to 
me,  will  be  greatly  excited  to  know  where  this  spiritual  world 
can  be  situated.  This  desire  appears  to  me  so  much  the 
more  natural  on  your  part,  as  from  your  quality  as  a  man  of 
the  world,  you  cannot  yet  think  of  spiritual  things,  but  from 
ideas  of  space  and  time.  Yet  the  spiritual  world,  from  its 
very  nature,  is  entirely  freed  from  the  trammels  of  space  and 
time ;  for  space  and  time  are  accidents  inherent  in  matter,  and 
can  only  exist  in  reality  in  the  natural  world.  I  will  return 
soon  to  these  truths,  which  I  now  merely  announce,  for  it  is  im 
portant  that  I  should  present  to  you  at  once,  some  general  con 
siderations  upon  the  relations  which  exist  between  God,  the 
spiritual  world,  and  the  natural  world.  This  subject  being  of 
an  abstract  nature,  I  claim  for  a  moment  all  your  attention. 


62  LETTERS   TO   A 

When  you  do  a  work  you  are  directed  by  a  motive,  and  you 
have  an  object  in  view.  This  object  is,  philosophically 
speaking,  the  end  ;  the  motive  which  directs  you,- is  the  cause ; 
the  work  which  you  do  is  the  effect.  These  are  three  things 
which  are  connected  together  by  relations  which  it  is  impor 
tant  well  to  determine. 

With  very  little  reflection  upon  that  which  passes  in  your 
mind  when  you  act,  you  will  easily  see  the  difference  which 
exists  between  the  end  and  the  cause,  in  acknowledging  that 
the  end  or  the  aim,  is  an  affection  which  resides  in  your  will, 
whilst  the  cause  is  a  thought  which  has  for  its  seat  your  un 
derstanding.  But  that  you  may  be  better  able  to  comprehend 
this  difference,  and  follow  this  discussion  without  any  effort, 
I  shall  support  what  I  have  said  by  an  example. 

When  a  sculptor  wishes  to  make  a  statue  from  a  block  of 
marble,  he  is  evidently  moved  to  satisfy  an  affection,  and  di 
rected  afterwards  by  a  thought.  His  affection  is  either  to  pro 
vide  for  his  natural  wants,  or  to  acquire  fame.  This  first 
moving  principle  of  the  sculptor  is  the  end  or  aim.  After 
wards  he  has  recourse  to  his  intellectual  faculties  to  create  a 
form  ;  the  thought  which  conceives  the  form  to  give  to  the 
marble  is  the  cause,  for  it  is  this  thought  which  will  direct  the 
hand  of  the  sculptor  in  the  execution  of  his  work.  Finally, 
the  m  mifestation  of  this  form  by  the  chisel,  that  is  to  say,  the 
statue  itself,  is  the  effect. 

It  thence  results  that  the  end,  the  cause,  and  effect,  are  not 
in  relations  which  precede  by  continuity,  whether  from  the 
simple  to  the  compound,  or  from  the  compound  to  the  simple, 
as  are  for  the  most  part  those  which  exist  between  things  of 
the  same  nature.  Their  relations  do  not  consist  in  fact  either 
in  increase  or  decrease  of  the  same  thing,  as  the  relation  of 
light  to  heavy,  which  is  only  an  increment  of  density,  nor  as 
that  of  heat  to  cold  which  is  but  3,  decrement  of  caloric.  But 
if  we  examine  attentively  the  nature  of  the  end,  of  the  cause, 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  63 

and  of  the  effect,  we  see  that  these  three  things  are  placed 
one  above  the  other,  in  degrees  entirely  distinct  or  separate 
from  one  another,  so  that  the  relations  which  exist  between 
them  are  like  those  of  the  anterior  to  the  posterior,  or  like 
those  of  the  superior  to  the  inferior. 

It  is,  indeed,  evident  that  the  end  or  design  is  anterior  and 
superior  to  the  cause  ;  the  end  is  anterior  to  the  cause ;  for  the 
sculptor  has  been  moved  by  the  love  of  riches  or  of  glory,  be 
side  having  had  recourse  to  his  intellectual  faculties  to  create 
the  form  of  the  statue :  the  end  is  superior  to  the  cause ;  for 
the  love  or  affection  of  the  sculptor  is  above  his  thought,  since 
it  is  this  love  or  this  affection  which  has  determined  his 
thought,  and  which  does  not  cease  to  sustain  it.  Suppose  this 
love  in  the  sculptor  should  cease,  would  not  his  thought  be 
immediately  directed  to  some  other  object  ? 

It  is  in  like  manner  evident,  that  the  cause  is  anterior  and 
superior  to  the  effect ;  for  the  thought  of  the  sculptor  had  con 
ceived  the  form  of  the  statue,  or  of  every  part  of  the  statue,  be 
fore  his  hand  applied  the  chisel  to  it  j  the  cause  is  superior 
to  the  effect ;  for  the  thought  of  the  sculptor  is  above  the 
statue,  since  it  is  this  thought  which  determines  the  form  of 
the  statue.  If,  before  having  finished  his  work,  the  sculptor 
rejected  his  thought,  would  not  the  form  of  the  statue  have 
remained  unfinished  ? 

Not  to  confound  these  relations  between  things  which  are 
of  an  absolutely  different  nature  with  the  relations  which  re 
sult  from  increments  or  decrements  of  the  same  thing,  we  give 
to  the  first  the  name  of  discrete  degrees,  and  to  the  others  the 
name  of  continuous  degrees.  So  there  are  three  discrete  degrees 
— the  end  forms  the  first  degree,  the  cause  is  the  second,  and 
the  effect  is  the  third  or  last.  Continuous  degrees  are  in  num 
ber  indefinite.  The  theory  of  continuous  degrees  is  not  diffi 
cult  to  comprehend,  because  these  degrees,  presenting  only 
differences  in  more  or  less,  can  be  easily  studied.  But  it  is 


64  LETTERS    TO    A 

not  so  with  the  discrete  degrees :  the  theory  of  these,  also,  which 
constitutes  a  real  science,  ^is,  at  this  day,  entirely  obliterated  , 
and  it  is  the  loss  of  this  knowledge  which  produces  all  the 
vague  lucubrations  of  philosophy,  when  it  is  engaged  in  the 
considerations  of  ends,  causes  and  effects.  As  the  nature  of 
the  questions  we  treat  of  will  compel  me  often  to  have  recourse 
to  this  theory,  I  propose  to  develope  to  you  successively  its 
principles. 

The  end,  the  cause,  and  the  effect  being  three  things  of  a 
nature  absolutely  different,  but  united  by  relations  of  anteri 
ority  at  id  superiority,  it  concerns  us  now  to  see  what  results 
from  these  relations. 

Be  it  observed,  in  the  first  place,  that  ends  and  causes  can 
only  be  comprehended  so  far  as  they  are  manifested  in  effects. 
Without  the  acts  which  they  produce,  they  would  be  as  if  they 
had  no  existence  ;  but,  by  means  of  their  manifestation,  they 
are  fixed  in  effects,  repose  in  them  as  upon  their  basis,  and 
remain  there  so  long  as  the  effects  subsist.  Thus,  so  long  as  the 
statue  subsists,  the  thought  of  the  sculptor  will  remain  in  this 
statue,  the  form  of  which  is  nothing  else  than  this  thought  defi 
nitely  arrested  and  fixed ;  but,  though  it  may  be  thus  arrested 
and  fixed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  strike  the  eyes  and  minds  of 
those  who  contemplate  the  statue,  it  is  nevertheless  certain 
that  this  thought  does  not  cease  to  be  in  the  sculptor ;  it  is 
then  also  out  of  the  statue.  This  is  a  fact  so  evident  that  it 
cannot  be  disputed  j  but  how  is  this  fact  to  be  explained  if  not 
by  the  relations  of  anteriority  and  posteriority,  which  exist 
between  the  thought  of  the  sculptor  and  the  statue  ?  Really, 
if  the  thought  of  the  sculptor  presents  itself  in  the  statue — 
which  cannot  be  denied— it  is  nevertheless  not  there,  but  as 
all  that  which  is  anterior  and  superior  presents  itself  in  the 
things  posterior  and  inferior  which  correspond  to  it,  that  is  to 
say,  that  it  does  not  the  less  subsist  out  of  the  statue,  by  rea 
son  that  that  which  is  anterior  and  superior  cannot  be  absorbed 


MAN   OF    THE   WORLD.  65 

by  that  which  is  posterior  and  inferior.    It  is  thus  that  the 
cause  subsists  out  of  the  effect,  though  being  in  the  effect. 

What  I  have  just  said  concerning  the  cause  and  the  effect 
is  applicable  to  the  end  and  the  cause,  between  which  exist 
the  same  relations  of  superiority  and  anteriority.  The  end 
subsists,  then,  out  of  the  cause,  though  being  in  the  cause. 
Farther,  as  the  cause  itself  is  in  the  effect,  it  results  that  the 
end  and  the  cause  both  subsist  out  of  the  effect,  though  being 
both  in  the  effect. 

I  will  resume  what  precedes  in  the  two  following  proposi 
tions  : 

1st.  The  end  is  simultaneously  in  the  cause  and  out  of  the 
cause. 

2nd.  The  end  and  the  cause  are  simultaneously  in  the  effect 
and  out  of  the  effect. 

This  granted :  all  that  which  exists  in  the  universe  having 
been  created  with  a  view  to  man,  to  the  end  that  by  man  the 
whole  creation  might  return  to  the  Creator,  God  is  evidently 
the  First  End  of  all  things. 

All  that  which  is  of  a  spiritual  nature,  consisting  in  affec 
tions  and  thoughts,  that  is  to  say,  in  living  forces  always  in 
activity  to  manifest  themselves  in  acts  which  are  proper  to  the 
cause,  the  spiritual  world  includes  the  causes  of  all  things. 
All  that  which  is  of  a  material  nature,  consisting  in  bodies 
more  or  less  gross,  manifested  by  causes  which  themselves 
proceed  from  the  first  end,  the  natural  world  is  the  theatre  of 
effects. 

Lastly,  the  relations  between  God,  the  spiritual  world,  and 
the  natural  world,  being  thus  absolutely  the  same  as  those 
which  exist  between  the  end,  the  cause,  and  the  effect,  the 
two  preceding  propositions  reveal  to  us  these  two  important 
truths. 

1st.  God  is  simultaneously  in  the  spiritual  world  and  out  of 
the  spiritual  world. 


66  LETTERS   TO    A 

2nd.  God  and  the  spiritual  world  are  simultaneously  in  the 
natural  world  and  out  of  the  natural  world. 

Thus,  in  the  creation,  everything  is  bound  together  and 
connected  with  God,  without  the  possibility  of  God  being 
confounded  with  his  work.  God  is  the  statuary,  and  the  uni 
verse  is  the  statue  which  his  divine  Thought  or  his  Wisdom 
has  formed  and  vivified,  with  a  view  to  satisfy  his  divine 
Affection  or  his  Love. 

Thus  the  universe  proceeds  from  God,  not  by  continuity, 
which  would  be  to  deify  creation,  but  by  contiguity. 

Thus,  in  that  which  concerns  man,  God  and  the  spiritual 
world  are  within  him,  and  are  also  out  of  him.  God  is  with 
in  man,  for  man  finds  God  in  the  recesses  of  his  heart,  when: 
by  renunciation  of  his  selfish  interests,  he  devotes  himself  to 
the  general  good,  or  sacrifices  himself  for  one  o.f  his  brethren. 
The  spiritual  world  is  within  man,  for  man  finds  in  himself 
his  affections  and  all  his  thoughts,  which  evidently  belong  to 
the  spiritual  world,  since  their  nature  is  wholly  immaterial. 
But  when  man  is  disengaged  from  matter,  or  when  his  mate 
rial  body  is  for  him  as  if  it  did  not  exist,  then,  though  God 
and  the  spiritual  world  are  in  him,  he  sees  them  also  out  of 
him.  He  sees  God  as  a  spiritual  sun,  and  also  as  man,  when 
it  pleases  the  Divinity  to  manifest  himself  under  the  human 
form  ;  and  he  sees  the  spiritual  world  as  a  real  world,  contain 
ing  all  that  which  is  necessary  to  the  existence  of  the  man- 
spirit  ;  for  all  the  affections  being  spiritual  substances,  and 
all  the  thoughts  spiritual  forms,  there  are  found  there,  by 
means  of  these  substances  and  these  forms,  objects  corres 
ponding  to  the  objects  of  our  world,  which  are  of  themselves 
correspondences  of  affections  and  thoughts. 

Thus,  the  spiritual  world  which  philosophy  had  made  to  van 
ish  by  subtilizing  it,  you  can  now  represent  to  yourself  by 
means  of  the  conception  of  spiritual  substances  and  forms,  as 
having  all  the  consistence  of  the  material  world,  without  sup- 


MAN   OF   THE    WORLD.  67 

posing  a  single  particle  of  matter.  But,  though  the  preceding 
truths  are  drawn  from  logical  deductions,  nevertheless  you 
will  be  able  to  comprehend  them  clearly  only  so  far  as  you 
can  abstract  your  thought  from  space.  Indeed,  God  and  the 
spiritual  world  being  out  of  the  natural  world,  as  the  sculptor 
is  out  of  the  statue,  they  are  also  out  of  space ;  for  space  is 
proper  to  the  natural  world,  and  consequently  exists  only  for 
this  world  where  all  is  fixed,  regulated,  and  constant,  because 
ends  and  causes  subsist  there  in  their  repose. 

Here  then  is  the  place  to  examine  the  two  propositions  pre 
viously  announced  on  the  subject  of  space  and  time,  to  wit :" 

1st,  That  space  and  time  are  accidents  inherent  in  matter. 
2nd.  That  space  and  time  cannot  exist  but  in  the  natural  world. 
Let  us  consider  separately  these  two  propositions,  and  first,  as 
to  what  concerns  space  : 

1st.  Space  is  inherent  in  matter:  This  is  evident,  for  it  is 
impossible,  by  reason  of  the  force  of  inertia  in  matter,  to  con 
ceive  this  matter  without  the  idea  of  space. 

2d.  Space  can  only  exist  in  the  natural  world :  It  is  easy  to 
convince  yourself  that  everything  spiritual,  that  is  to  say,  all 
that  which  is  affection  and  thought,  is  independent  of  space. 
Truly,  if  man  cannot  free  himself  from  space  when  he  pleases, 
it  is  because  he  is,  as  to  all  the  parts  which  constitute  him, 
enveloped  in  a  material  body,  and  because  he  thus  finds  him 
self  subject  to  the  laws  of  matter  in  that  which  concerns  his 
body.  Thence  it  is  that,  in  order  to  convey  himself  to  any 
place,  he  is  obliged  to  pass  through  places  which  separate  him 
from  it;  but  if  he  abstracts  himself  from  this  body,  by  con 
centrating  himself  in  his  affection  and  thought,  the  case  with 
him  is  different,  and  the  trammels  of  space  disappear  for  an 
instant.  I  say  for  an  instant,  because  it  is  hardly  possible  that 
a  man  should  make  this  abstraction  long,  inasmuch  as,  living 
in  this  world  in  the  midst  of  material  objects,  his  ideas  are 
incessantly  carried  back  upon  these  objects.  When,  by  your 


68  LETTERS   TO   A 

will  and  your  understanding  you  transport  yourself  in  affection 
and  thought  to  an  absent  friend,  or  to  places  which  awaken 
agreeable  recollections,  do  you  not  really  abstract  space  ?  This 
space,  which  so  often  opposes  your  desires,  only  exists,  then, 
for  you  because  the  material  body  with  which  you  are  clothed 
in  this  world  subjects  you  to  the  laws  of  matter.  Thus  there 
is,  in  reality,  no  space  for  affection  nor  for  thought  j  nor,  con 
sequently  for  all  that  which  is  spiritual,  since  the  spiritual  is 
composed  of  nothing  else  but  affections  and  thoughts. 

In  that  which  concerns  time  : 

1st.  Time  is  inherent  in  matter.  This  results  also  from  the 
inertia  of  matter — inertia  from  which  this  matter  can  be  sub 
jected  to  regular  movements.  The  measure  of  time  is  owing,  in 
fact,  to  the  two-fold  motion  of  the  earth  upon  itself,  and  around 
the  sun,  or  what  is  the  same  thing,  to  the  appearance  of  the 
double  motion  of  the  sun  around  and  in  the  ecliptic ;  for  you 
know  that  it  is  this  double  motion  which  gives  us  the  alternate 
return  of  day  and  night,  and  the  succession  of  years.  Suppose 
our  planet  should  no  longer  be  subjected  to  this  two-fold  mo 
tion,  and  should  remain  immovable — what  would  happen  ? 
The  sun  would  no  longer  have  his  two  apparent  motions,  and 
would  remain  for  us  invariably  fixed  to  one  of  the  points  of 
the  azure  vault ;  then  there  would  be  no  more  night  for  the 
hemisphere,  which  would  be  enlightened,  and  which  alone 
would  be  inhabited ;  no  more  return  of  seasons ;  but  one  per 
petual  day,  one  temperature,  whose  changes  for  every  locality 
would  depend  upon  the  irregular  variations  of  the  atmosphere. 
How,  in  such  a  case,  could  we  measure  time?  What  end 
would  be  served  by  the  instruments  now  in  use  ?  Every  one, 
certainly,  would  be  obliged  to  refer  to  his  own  sensations. 
In  such  a  state  of  things,  it  is  evident  that  we  should  not  mea 
sure  time,  for  you  know  that  pain  and  ennui  make  it  appear 
long,  while  pleasure  and  absence  of  mind  shorten  it ;  this 
would  be  then  rather  the  state  of  the  soul,  and  the  different 


MAN  OF   THE  WORLD.  69 

modifications  of  that  state  which  we  should  determine.  It 
thence  evidently  results  that  time  is  owing  to  the  force  of 
inertia  of  matter,  and  thus  it  is  inherent  in  matter. 

2d.  Time  can  only  exist  in  the  natural  world.  Since  time  is 
owing  to  the  force  of  the  ine-rtia  of  matter,  and  since  it  would 
be  impossible  to  measure  it,  if  material  nature  were  not  sub 
jected  to  regular  motions,  it  results  that  time  cannot  exist 
where  the  law  of  inertia  does  not  exist ;  now  this  law  can 
only  exist  for  matter.  In  fact,  the  spiritual,  having  been  en 
dowed  with  the  liberty  or  the  faculty  of  moving  itself  freely, 
cannot  be  subject  to  the  law  of  inertia,  for  this  law  and  the 
law  of  liberty  are  by  no  means  compatible.  Besides,  it  is 
easy  to  see  of  yourself  that  time  does  not  exist  either  for  af 
fections  or  for  thoughts ;  you  can  free  yourself  from  it,  whether 
by  your  will  and  your  understanding  you  carry  yourself  into 
the  past,  even  the  most  remote,  which  then  appears  to  you 
present  j  or  whether  by  these  same  faculties  you  represent  to 
yourself  the  time  which  is  to  come. 

I  will  here  add,  as  an  observation,  that  there  is  in  man  an 
innate  desire  to  free  himself  from  the  shackles  of  space  and 
time,  and  this  desire,  which  is  ever  appearing,  is  itself,  if  not 
a  proof,  at  least  a  strong  presumption,  that  the  spiritual  world, 
for  which  man  is  born,  is  independent  of  space  and  time. 

It  is  also  the  consequence  which  flows  from  my  second 
proposition.  In  fact,  if  space  and  time  cannot  exist  but  in 
the  natural  world,  there  is  in  the  spiritual  world  neither  space 
nor  time.  Then  how  can  we  form  an  idea  of  that  world  ? 
How  form  a  conception  of  earths,  mountains,  valleys,  meadows, 
gardens,  houses,  inhabitants  there,  if  there  is  not  space  1 
How  admit  there  that  succession  of  events  which,  properly 
speaking,  constitutes  existence,  if  there  is  not  time  there  ? 

Although  the  objection  seems  strong,  a  few  reflections  will 
suffice  to  remove  it.  Habituated  as  we  are  to  live  in  a  world 
where  we  cannot  act  without  being  continually  subjected  to 


70  LETTERS   TO    A 

the  trammels  of  space  and  time,  we  can  hardly  conceive  of  an 
existence  freed  from  these  fetters.  Our  ignorance  of  the  true 
nature  of  spiritual  substances  and  forms,  which  are  nothing 
else  but  affections  and  thoughts,  induces  us  to  believe  that 
without  space  and  time  there  would  be  nothing  there  j  no  in 
dividual  thing }  that  all  would  be  confounded,  or  rather  that  all 
would  be  annihilated.  It  is  true,  it  would  be  thus  with  our 
world,  since  space  and  time  are  inherent  in  matter ;  but  it  is 
quite  different  in  the  immaterial  world.  There  substances  and 
forms  preserve  their  individual  state,  without  having  need,  for 
this  purpose,  of  space  and  time.  If  these  substances  and 
forms,  which  are  types  of  the  substances  and  forms  which  we 
see  in  our  world,  were  not  of  themselves  in  the  individual  state, 
our  world  would  not  exist,  since  material  substances  and  forms 
exist  from  spiritual  substances  and  forms.  The  material  and 
spiritual  worlds  are  then  both  composed  of  individual  things, 
but  with  this  difference,  that  individual  things  in  the  former 
are  subjected  to  the  laws  of  inertia,  whilst  in  the  latter  they 
are  governed  by  the  law  of  liberty. 

It  thence  becomes  evident,  that  there  is  in  the  spiritual 
world  the  equivalent  of  our  space  and  time,  considered  only  in 
this,  that  they  cause  substances  and  forms  to  be  in  the  indi 
vidual  state,  and  not  in  this,  that  they  place  fetters  upon  their 
action ;  for  this  last  property  of  space  and  time  proceeds  from 
their  inherence  in  matter,  while  they  owe  their  first  prop 
erty  to  the  mode  itself  of  the  existence  of  spiritual  sub 
stances  and  forms.  Yet  being  obliged,  in  order  to  be  better 
understood,  to  compare  spiritual  things  with  natural  things, 
we  give  to  this  equivalent  of  space  and  time  the  name  of 
appearance,  and  we  say  that  in  the  spiritual  world  there  is 
the  appearance  of  space  and  time,  though  to  speak  more 
correctly,  we  should  say  that  the  mode  of  existence  of  sub 
stances  and  forms,  in  *our  space  and  our  time,  is  itself  a 
gross  appearance  of  their  real  mode  of  existence,  since  instead 


MAN    OF  THE   WORLD.  71 

of  acting  freely  according  to  their  nature,  they  are  confined 
by  space  and  time  in  a  material  prison.  Besides,  how  many 
appearances  are  taken  for  realities,  and  how  many  realities 
for  appearances  I  If  man  would  only  reflect  a  little  upon  the 
subject,  he  would  see  that  in  our  world  everything  is  filled 
with  appearances  which  are  taken  for  realities ;  and,  to  cite 
only  one  example,  how  many  various  appearances  proceed  from 
the  apparent  immobility  of  the  earth  ! 

In  conclusion,  it  remains  for  us  to  enquire  what  it  is  which 
constitutes  for  spirits  the  appearance  of  space  and  time.  This 
question  being  connected  with  other  theories  wThich  we  will 
soon  examine,  I  will  satisfy  myself  for  the  present  with  giving 
you  a  summary  solution  of  it.  This  appearance  of  space  and 
time's  being  the  real  mode  of  the  existence  of  spirits,  must 
necessarily  result  from  the  life  of  each  one  of  them.  Conse 
quently,  the  different  states  of  the  affections  of  a  spirit  consti 
tute  for  him  the  appearance  of  our  space,  and  the  different  states 
of  his  thoughts,  the  appearance  of  our  time. 

I  have  entered  into  all  these  considerations  relative  to  space 
and  time,  because  it  is  impossible  to  comprehend  clearly  spirit 
ual  things  if  we  do  not  abstract  our  minds  from  these  two  acci 
dents  adherent  to  matter. 

To  think  of  God  from  space,  is  to  think  of  the  extent  of  na 
ture  and  to  fall  into  materialism ;  but  when  we  think  of  God 
as  out  of  space  and  time,  though  in  space  and  time,  we  can 
conceive  Him  to  be  everywhere  present,  and  in  all  his  entire- 
ness  in.  the  greatest  as  well  as  the  least  things.  In  his  qual 
ity  of  Infinite,  he  fills  all  spaces  without  being  himself,  like 
material  things,  in  space ;  and  in  his  quality  of  Eternal,  he  is 
in  all  the  parts  of  time,  without  the  divisions  of  time  being  appli 
cable  to  him.  Mathematics  prove  in  fact  that  the  infinite  is 
applicable  to  the  greatest  as  well  as  to  the  least  thing :  and 
philosophy  acknowledges  that  the  eternity  of  God,  being  anteri 
or  and  posterior,  there  is  to  God  himself  neither  past  nor  future. 


72  LETTERS    TO   A 

To  think  of  the  spiritual  world  from  space,  would  be  to 
materialize  that  which  from  its  nature  is  immaterial ;  but 
when  we  acknowledge  that  the  spiritual  world  is  out  of  space 
and  time,  though  it  be  in  space  and  time  in  this  sense  that  it 
transmits  to  the  material  world  the  life  which  it  receives  from 
God,  we  can  conceive  of  this  spiritual  world  as  really  exist 
ing,  without,  on  that  account,  assigning  to  it  a  fixed  and  de 
terminate  position ;  we  can  conceive  that  it  is  in  the  natural 
world  and  out  of  the  natural  world ;  in  man  and  out  of  man. 

I  propose  soon  to  show  you  what  is  the  mode  of  existence 
of  the  man-spirit.  It  will  then  be  very  easy,  by  the  details 
into  which  I  shall  enter,  to  represent  to  yourself  this  immate 
rial  world,  of  which  you  cannot  as  yet  have  a  very  clear  idea. 

Accept,  &c. 


LETTER  VIT. 

To  trace  in  my  exposition  the  great  features  of  the  spiritual 
world,  without  stopping  to  reply  to  the  objections  which 
might  arise  in  your  mind  was,  as  you  know,  my  first  design. 
I  saw  in  this  the  double  advantage  of  enabling  you  to  em 
brace  an  idea  of  the  whole  at  once,  and  a  saving  of  time  in 
the  examination  of  questions,  some  of  which  must  necessarily 
find  a  place  in  the  course  of  the  discussion  j  others  have  been 
introduced  only  because  you  had  not  this  general  idea  j  but 
your  last  letter  contains  so  serious  an  objection,  that  I  find  it 
necessary  to  examine  it  immediately.  Besides,  the  desire  you 
manifest,  to  be  enlightened  as  soon  as  possible  on  this  subject, 
is  a  sufficient  reason  for  me  to  return  to  my  preceding  deter 
mination. 


V 


9*f#m 

V  Th* 
MAN   OF   THE   WORLDl/]J  JJ  J  ^  73 

Not  to  diminish  in  the  least  the  force  of  your  objection,  I 
extract  from  your  letter  the  whole  paragraph  which  contains  it. 

"  While  reading,  in  your  fifth  letter,  your  views  concerning 
the  human  soul,  there  arose  one  objection.  I  willingly  admit 
that  it  is  the  human  soul  alone  that  suffers  when  the  body  is 
injured  :  I  admit  also  that  it  is  this  which  suffers  in  the  ampu 
tated  body  ;  but  the  argument  you  use  would  apply  as  well  to 
animals  as  to  man,  for  animals  experience  the  same  sufferings 
that  we  do,  arid  an  animal  having  a  limb  amputated  would 
in  like  manner  suffer  from  a  member  which  it  would  no  longer 
possess.  It  would  seem  to  result,  then,  that  animals  also 
have  a  spiritual  body.  I  did  not  first  present  this  objection, 
because  I  expected  to  see  it  removed  in  the  course  of  your  expo 
sition,  as  it  has  happened  with  many  others  which  I  had  pre 
viously  submitted. 

"  Nevertheless,  far  from  removing  this  difficulty,  your  sixth 
letter,  on  the  contrary,  has  rendered  it  still  more  serious,  since 
you  place  in  the  spiritual  world  all  the  objects  of  the  animal 
kingdom.  You  say,  in  fact,  that  there  is  not  a  single  object  in 
our  world  which  is  not  the  correspondent  of  an  object  existing 
in  reality,  that  is  to  say,  in  substance  and  form,  in  the  spirit 
ual  world  ;  and  in  the  enumeration  which  you  make  of  these 
objects  you  cite  the  three  kingdoms  with  all  that  constitues 
them.  Now,  to  give  a  spiritual  body  to  animals,  and  to  say,  be 
sides,  that  there  are  Animals  in  the  spiritual  world,  is  evidently 
assimilating  animals  to  man,  for  this  is  not  only  giving  them 
a  soul,  but  it  is  making  this  soul  enjoy  immortality.  Eelieve 
me  -at  once,  I  pray  you,  from  the  disorder  of  ideas  in  which 
these  reflections  involve  me.  Your  system  pleased  me  ;  I  was 
rejoiced  to  see  that  every  one  of  your  letters  removed  difficul 
ties  which  I  believed  to  be  inextricable.  I  was  not  yet,  it  is 
true,  very  familiar  with  your  spiritual  substances  and  forms  j 
but  there  were  so  many  pleasing  ideas  in  representing  man 
spiritually  organised,  and  thus  surviving  a  complete  man,  after 


74  LETTERS   TO    A 

the  dissolution  of  his  mortal  body,  that  you  led  me  eagerly  to  de 
sire  that  so  beautiful  a  conception  might  be  a  reality.  I  would, 
I  confess,  experience  regret  in  abandoning  ideas  which  were 
to  me  a  consoling  balm ;  but  I  should  be  compelled  to  reject 
them  if  you  give  a  soul  to  beasts ;  for  my  reason  would  decide 
for  the  complete  annihilation  of  man  and  animals,  rather  than 
admit  to  the  privilege  of  immortality  beings  deprived  of  reason." 
I  cannot  reproach  you,  my  dear  sir,  for  having  supposed  that 
we  attribute  to  animals  an  immortal  soul,  for  I  expected  such 
an  objection.  When  we  are  heard  to  say  that  there  are  ani 
mals  in  the  spiritual  world,  there  are  few  persons  who  would 
not  exclaim  :  Have  beasts  also  a  soul  ]  This  exclamation  ap 
pears  to  us  so  natural,  that  it  by  no  means  surprises  us.  Men's 
ideas  at  this  day  are  so  vague  upon  all  that  concerns  man; 
the  discussions  of  philosophy  concerning  the  soul  of  beasts,  far 
from  throwing  light  on  this  subject,  have  thrown  so  much  ob 
scurity  upon  it  j  there  are  so  many  of  the  learned  who  by  their 
writings  have  given  rise  to  the  belief,  when  yet  they  have  not 
postively  said  so,  that  between  man  and  beast  there  is  only  the 
difference  of  more  or  less— it  cannot  be  surprising  that  they  at 
first  should  persuade  themselves  that  we  also  assimilate  beasts 
to  men.  We  are,  however,  far  from  admitting  such  an  opin 
ion,  which  would  be  in  complete  opposition  to  all  our  princi 
ples.  We,  on  the  contrary,  use  all  our  efforts  to  destroy  so 
fatal  an  error,  which  introduces  materialism  into  all  classes  of 
society ;  for  so  soon  as  there  is  admitted,  between  man  and 
beast,  only  the  difference  of  more  or  less,  men  are  logically  led 
to  believe  that  man,  like  a  beast,  is  annihilated  by  natural 
death.  But  to  combat  this  error,  instead  of  having  recourse, 
like  the  old  philosophy,  to  common-place  ideas,  the  impotency 
of  which  is  acknowledged,  we  will  demonstrate  that  the  dif 
ference  between  man  and  beast  is  so  distinct,  that  it  is  impos 
sible,  when  we  have  once  recognised  it,  ever  to  assimilate  the 
one  to  the  other. 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  75 

Now  that  I  have  relieved  you  by  making  known  to  you  our 
principles  upon  this  important  point,  I  come  to  your  objection, 
which  may  be  thus  stated  : 

11  If  you  give  a  spiritual  body  to  animals,  and  if,  besides, 
there  are  animals  in  the  spiritual  world,  you  evidently  attrib 
ute  an  immortal  soul  to  the  animal." 

To  this  I  reply  : 

Yes,  we  give  a  spiritual  body  to  animals:  also,  there  are 
animals  in  the  spiritual  world ;  and  yet  an  animal  has  not  an 
immortal  soul. 

Thus,  though  I  admit  with  you  the  two  propositions  which 
lead  you  to  conclude  that  animals  have  an  immortal  soul,  I 
maintain  the  contrary ;  but  yet  I  am  not  at  all  surprised  at  the 
conclusion  you  have  drawn,  for  all  other  persons  would  have 
concluded  the  same,  because  they  are  generally  ignorant  of 
what  the  nature  of  man  is,  what  that  of  beasts,  and  what  are 
the  conditions  requisite  for  a  being  to  enjoy  immortality. 

As  you  have  hesitated  in  believing  that  we  attributed  a  spir 
itual  body  to  animals,  it  is  my  duty  to  insist  at  first  upon  this 
truth  which  I  have  just  affirmed.  You  acknowledge,  besides, 
that  it  is  a  consequence  of  the  principles  which  I  have  ex 
plained  to  you  on  the  subject  of  man.  Logic  says,  in  fact,  that 
if  matter  in  man  is  insensible,  it  must  be  the  same  in  animals ; 
that  if  there  is  in  man  a  spiritual  organized  being,  which  suf 
fers  when  the  material  body  receives  a  wound,  it  must  be  the 
same  in  like  cases  with  animals  ;  for  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
there  is  suffering  with  both.  Besides,  when  the  insensibility 
of  matter  and  its  inaptitude  to  take  any  form  of  itself  is  recog 
nised,  we  are  forced  to  admit  the  principle  of  spiritual  bodies. 
It  results  again  from  our  principles  that  nature  is  of  itself 
dead ;  now  it  is  a  fact  that  life  is  diffused  in  different  degrees 
into  all  natural  bodies.  How  could  each  one  of  them  take  the 
life  which  is  proper  to  it  if  there  was  not  in  it  a  corresponding 
spiritual  body  adapted  to  receive  this  life  from  the  common 


76  LETTERS   TO    A 

source  ?  Thus  we  declare  boldly,  because  it  is  a  truth  which 
cannot  be  combatted  but  by  frivolous  objections,  that  vegeta 
bles  and  animals  subsist  by  influx  from  the  spiritual  world  into 
the  natural,  and  proceed  from  spiritual  germs  included  in 
natural  germs,  and  nature  serves  only  to  fix  the  spiritual 
which  continuously  flows  into  it,  in  consequence  of  the  ten 
dency  of  everything  spiritual  to  clothe  itself  with  a  body. 
The  animal  exists  then  only  because  it  is  the  correspondence  of 
certain  spiritual  substances  and  forms,  of  which  the  whole 
together  has  constituted  the  spiritual  body  upon  which  corres 
ponding  material  particles  are  moulded. 

And  here  is  explained  the  mystery  of  the  life  and  generation 
of  all  that  is  born,  grows  up,  and  and  dies.  The  seed  always 
produces  the  same  plant.  Why  does  the  acorn  always  pro 
duce  an  oak  ?  It  is  because  in  the  acorn  the  spiritual  body  of 
the  oak  already  exists.  Why  have  a  great  many  animals  and 
principally  the  saurians,  the  faculty  of  reproducing  amputated 
members  ?  How  is  it  that  the  foot  of  a  lizard,  when  torn  off, 
grows  out  again  ?  One  of  two  things — either  nature  performs 
a  miracle,  or  else  material  substances  mould  themselves  upon 
the  spiritual  body,  as  upon  a  model.  This  last  solution  can 
alone  explain  why  hybrids,  mules,  &c.  cannot  reproduce  them 
selves;  why  the  graft  can  only  be  performed  upon  trees  of 
the  same  class,  for  though  material  forms  maybe  coupled,  it 
is  impossible  in  the  same  manner  to  establish  spiritual  forms. 

From  all  that  precedes  then,  it  results  evidently  that  animals 
have  spiritual  bodies.  I  proceed  now  to  my  second  affir 
mation. 

There  are  animals  in  the  spiritual  world.  This  truth,  which 
has  excited  your  astonishment,  is  also  a  consequence  of  prin 
ciples  previously  announced.  If  you  do  not  admit  animals  in 
the  spiritual  world,  you  are  obliged  to  exclude  from  it  vegeta 
bles,  minerals,  atmospheres,  and,  in  a  word,  all  that  corres 
ponds  to  the  different  objects  of  which  nature  is  composed. 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  77 

What  becomes  then  of  the  spiritual  world  ?  It  vanishes  com 
pletely  ;  it  is  no  longer  a  world,  for  this  world  carries  with  it 
the  idea  of  a  thing  analogous  to  the  world  which  we  inhabit : 
you  can  thence  form  no  idea  of  it :  you  fall  into  the  abstractions 
of  philosophy,  and  consequently  into  all  your  doubts  concerning 
the  immortality  of  the  soul. 

I  readily  conceive,  however,  your  repugnance  to  admit  that 
there  are  animals  in  the  spiritual  world.  An  interior  sentiment 
tells  you  that  you  have  an  immortal  soul :  but  taking  a  view  of 
all  that  surrounds  you,  you  see  on  all  sides  beings  destitute  of 
reason :  you  know  that  they  live,  feel,  suffer  and  have  passions 
like  men ;  you  are  struck  with  all  the  other  analogies  which  we 
observe  between  the  most  intelligent  of  these  beings  and  him 
who  is  called  the  lord  of  creation.  Then  you  hesitate  to  trace 
the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  reasonable  being  and  the 
instinctive  being,  particularly  when  you  reflect  that  many  ani 
mals  are  often  more  affectionate  or  ingenious  than  so  many 
depraved  men :  and  yet,  if  you  grant  a  soul  to  the  being  the 
nearest  to  man,  you  are  directly  forced  to  give  it  to  the  one 
which  immediately  succeeds,  and  so  descend,  step  by  step,  to 
animals  which  are  found  in  the  lowest  degree  of  the  scale.  At 
this  thought  your  dignity  of  man  revolts  and,  in  your  perplex 
ity  you  are  more  inclined  to  believe  in  the  complete  annihila 
tion  of  man,  than  in  the  immortality  of  all  these  beings  de 
prived  of  reason. 

All  these  thoughts,  which  are  those  of  the  greater  number  of 
men  of  this  age,  were  awakened  in  you  so  soon  as  you  saw  us 
place  animals  in  the  spiritual  world.  You  immediately  called 
to  mind  that,  from  their  analogy  with  man,  animals  must  have 
a  spiritual  body,  and  you  concluded  from  this  that  we  give  an 
immortal  soul  to  beast.  You  know  now  that  we  reject  your 
conclusion  with  all  our  might;  but  seeing  me  nevertheless 
persist  in  maintaining  as  true  the  two  propositions  which  have 
led  you  to  this  conclusion,  you  must  be  anxious  to  know  why 
I  reject  it.  I  proceed  to  satisfy  you. 


78  LETTERS   TO   A 

I  admit,  it  is  true,  that  animals  have  a  spiritual  body,  but 
the  conclusion  that  this  body  is  immortal  by  no  means  results 
from  the  existence  of  a  spiritual  body  :  indeed,  if  from  this 
alone  that  the  spiritual  body  exists,  we  are  to  conclude  that  it 
is  immortal,  we  should  be  under  the  necessity  of  concluding 
that  it  possesses  existence  in  itself,  and  thence  it  would  not 
only  be  immortal  but  eternal;  now  we  know  that  God  alone 
is  eternal.  We  shall  soon  see  that  the  spiritual  body  of  man 
is  only  immortal  because  it  is  the  receptacle  of  the  eternal 
life  which  reposes  in  the  bosom  of  the  Divinity. 

I  admit  further,  that  there  are  animals  in  the  spiritual 
world  ]  but  from  this  proposition  it  no  longer  results  that 
these  animal  forms,  perceived  in  the  world  of  spirits,  are  the 
souls  of  animals  dead  or  to  be  born  upon  the  earth,  and  that 
these  appearances  of  animals  are  immortal  individualities  re 
ceptive  of  the  Divine  life. 

Here  is  my  reply  :  not  to  keep  you  in  suspense  I  give  it  to 
you  in  a  few  words.  As  to  the  proofs  of  the  assertions  which 
it  embraces,  I  do  not  present  them  here,  because  they  will 
result  from  the  examination  of  the  important  question  which 
is  now  about  to  occupy  our  attention. 

This  grave  question  known  generally  under  the  name  of  the 
Problem  of  the  Soul  of  Beasts  has  excited  long  discussion 
among  philosophers,  and  h£s  never  yet  been  completly  resolved 
by  them.  Give  me  then,  I  pray  you,  the  whole  of  your  attention. 

To  ascertain  correctly  what  constitutes  immortality,  it  is 
necessary  to  have  clear  ideas  concerning  esse  and  existere  (to 
be  or  being,  and  to  exist  or  existence.)  These  are  generally  con 
founded,  because  the  esse  and  the  existere  always  present  them 
selves  to  our  view  as  a  one,  and  thus  we  cannot  see  the  esse 
but  by  the  existere.  We  see  in  fact  only  that  which  exists, 
and  nothing  can  exist  without  having  an  esse.  Nevertheless, 
we  can  by  abstraction  consider  the  esse  independently,  or  sep 
arated  from,  the  existere,  and  then  the  esse  is  to  us  the 


MAN  OF   THE  WORLD.  TO 

thing  itself,  and  the  existere  is  the  manifestation  of  the  thing. 
In  like  manner,  we  see  substances  only  by  their  forms,  and  yet 
by  abstraction  we  can  consider  the  substance  independently 
or  separated  from  its  form  j  and  then  the  substance  is  to  us 
the  thing  itself,  and  the  form  is  the  manifestation  of  that  thing. 
You  may  readily  see,  by  means  of  this  distinction,  that  a  thing 
cannot  enjoy  immortality,  but  so  far  as  its  esse  shall  be  always 
manifested  by  an  existere  j  for,  as  results  from  the  very  expres 
sions  used  in  common  language,  "  to  cease  to  exist"  is  not  to 
enjoy  immortality. 

As  it  is  the  existere  which  manifests  the  thing,  and  which 
constitutes  its  individuality,  or  its  personality,  all  the  objects  of 
nature  have  their  existere  while  they  subsist  in  this  world, 
since  each  of  them  is  distinct  and  individual.  But  is  this  exis 
tere  so  united  to  their  esse  that  it  cannot  be  separated  from  it,  or, 
in  other  words,  must  they  always  preserve  their  individuality  ? 
Arid  to  speak  here  only  of  the  animal  kingdom,  as  we  affirm 
that  animals  have  a  spiritual  body,  and  that  this  body  exists, 
since  it  is  it  which  acts  in  their  natural  body,  is  it  united  to  its 
esse  in  such  a  manner  as  never  to  be  separated  from  it  ?  As 
we  affirm  besides  that  there  are  animals  in  the  spiritual  world, 
are  these  animals  individualities  which  have  previously  exist 
ed  in  our  world  ?  Such,  in  fact,  is  the  principal  point  of  the 
question  which  we  are  discussing ;  for  it  is  very  evident  from 
what  precedes,  that  immortality  cannot  belong  to  any  individ 
ualities  except  to  those  whose  existere  is  united  to  the  esse  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  be  incapable  of  ever  being  separated 
from  it. 

It  suffices,  then,  to  enquire  which  are  the  bodies  that  fulfil 
this  indispensable  condition,  and  which  are  those  that  do  not 
fulfil  it }  for  the  spiritual  body  even  in  its  essence  is  not  im 
mortal,  as  I  have  already  told  you  j  it  has  this  prerogative  only 
when  it  is  adapted  to  receive  life  in  its  complete  state,  or,  in 
other  terms,  when  it  is  the  receptacle  of  the  Love  and  Wisdom 


80  LETTERS    TO   A 

of  God.  It  is,  in  fact,  in  this  case  alone,  as  you  will  see  pres 
ently,  that  the  esse  and  existere  are  inseparably  united. 

God,  we  have  already  said,  is  Love  and  Wisdom.  Divine 
Love  is  the  Esse  Itself ;  it  is  this  alone  which  fills  and  animates 
everything  with  its  life.  The  divine  Wisdom  is  Existere  Itself; 
it  is  this  which  manifests  the  divine  Love,  which  has  created 
and  disposed  all  things. 

All  the  objects  of  creation  derive  their  substance  from  the 
Esse  Itself,  which  is  the  first  Substance,  and  their  form  from 
the  Existere  Itself,  which  is  the  first  Form  (Forme-Type ;)  but 
they  are  receptacles  of  the  Existere  in  different  degrees.  Con 
sequently  they  all  tend  more  or  less  to  the  Form  of  the  Crea 
tor,  or,  in  other  words,  to  the  human  form,  since  God  is  Very- 
Man.  Hence  the  origin  of  the  great  chain  of  beings,  every  link 
of  which  is  a  lowering  from  the  link  which  precedes  it. 

At  the  head  of  this  chain  is  man.  If  we  consider  man  only 
in  his  quality  of  a  natural  being,  he  necessarily  constitutes  a 
part  of  the  chain ;  he  is  the  first  link  of  it.  But  if  we  consider 
man  in  his  quality  of  man,  he  no  longer  constitutes  the  first 
link,  in  this  sense,  that  there  is  not  between  him  and  the  fol 
lowing  link  the  only  difference  which  we  observe  between  any 
two  other  animals  taken  consecutively ;  it  is  no  longer  possible 
even  to  establish  a  comparison  :  for  the  difference  which  dis 
tinguishes  him  from  the  other  beings  is  of  an  order  indefinitely 
more  elevated.  Man  is  found,  then,  above  the  chain — he  rules 
it  as  the  spiritual  rules  the  natural.  Thus,  on  the  one  hand, 
man  connected  with  all  nature  belongs  to  this  world,  and,  on 
the  other,  he  is  separated  by  the  spiritual  principle  with  which 
he  alone  is  endowed ;  his  feet  are  upon  the  earth,  but  his  coun 
tenance  looks  towards  the  heavens. 

This  truth,  which  I  but  announce  here,  will  soon  become 
evident  to  you.  God  continually  diffuses  life  into  the  whole 
universe ;  but  this  life,  penetrating  into  bodies,  is  modified  ac 
cording  to  the  constitution  of  each  of  them. 


MAN  OF   THE  WORLD.  81 

It  is,  in  fact,  evident  that  man  owes  the  faculty  of  ascending 
from  the  effect  to  the  cause,  and  from  the  cause  to  the  end,  to 
his  particular  organization.  If  man  had  not  that  elevated  fore 
head  which  distinguishes  him  from  other  animals,  he  would 
be  deprived  of  this  faculty ;  for  experience  proves,  that  the 
more  the  forehead  is  depressed,  the  less  there  is  of  intelligence ; 
and  that  he  is  no  more  than  a  kind  of  idiot  when  the  depres 
sion  is  very  great.  Experience  proves,  besides,  that  among 
animals,  the  smaller  the  anterior  part  of  the  brain  is,  relatively 
to  the  whole,  the  more  inferior  is  the  degree  which  the  species 
occupies  in  the  chain  of  animated  beings. 

Man  being  able  to  ascend  from  effects  to  causes,  and  from 
causes  to  ends,  the  result  is  that  there  are  in  him  the  three  sepa 
rate  or  discrete  degrees,  of  which  I  have  spoken  in  my  last  let 
ter.  The  first  of  these  degrees  with  man,  is  love,  because  what 
man  loves  he  proposes  for  an  end  ;  the  second  degree  is  wis 
dom,  because  it  is  by  this  that  the  end  seeks  causes ;  the  third 
degree  is  the  operation  of  the  body,  because  by  it  the  end 
and  the  cause  are  manifested  in  effects.  You  know,  also,  that 
these  three  degrees  are  of  an  absolutely  different  nature,  and 
the  connection  between  them  is  only  by  relations  of  anteriority 
and  superiority.  The  order  in  which  the  discrete  degrees  act 
is  called  successive  order,  while  that  of  the  continuous  degrees 
is  called  simultaneous  order. 

By  means  of  the  three  discrete  degrees,  man  can  receive  the 
love  and  the  wisdom  of  God,  or  life  in  the  complete  state ;  his 
will  is  the  receptacle  of  that  love,  and  his  understanding  the 
receptacle  of  that  wisdom — the  first  being  warmed  by  the  ht-at 
of  the  spiritual  sun,  and  the  second  enlightened  by  its  light. 
It  is  thus  that  man  is  an  image  of  God ;  and  as  life  descends 
into  him  in  its  fullness,  the  tsse  and  the  existere  are  with  him 
inseparably  united,  so  that  he  enjoys  immortality,  even  when, 
by  his  life  in  this  world,  instead  of  having  appropriated  the 
love  and  wisdom  of  God,  he  has  rejected  them  far  from  his 


82  LETTERS   TO   A 

heart  and  his  thought ;  for  in  this  last  case  the  divine  influx 
does  not  cease  to  act  upon  the  man,  even  when  he  has  become 
a  spirit ;  but  man,  in  consequence  of  his  liberty  and  rationality 
which  he  has  depraved,  changes  love  into  hatred  and  wisdom 
into  folly. 

Man  having  been  created  in  the  image  of  God,  and  the  or 
ganization  of  the  beast  differing  from  that  of  man,  it  results 
that  beasts  are  not  images  of  God ;  thus  the  chain  of  animals 
presents  to  us  only  successive  degradations  of  the  human  form. 
Thence  it  results,  at  the  same  time,  that  animals  do  not  receive 
life  in  the  complete  state.  This  last  consequence  is  besides 
fully  confirmed  by  comparative  anatomy.  Examine  the  brain 
of  the  animal  whose  form  approaches  the  nearest  that  of  man, 
and  you  will  find  that  his  sinciput  presents  no  kind  of  compar 
ison  with  that  of  man.  Now,  it  is  principally  in  the  anterior 
part  of  the  human  brain  where  the  understanding  resides ;  and 
you  know  that  the  understanding  is  the  receptacle  of  spiritual 
light  or  of  wisdom  from  God.  Then,  since  all  beasts  without 
any  exception,  are  deprived  of  this  anterior  part  of  the  brain, 
it  is  impossible  for  them  to  receive  spiritual  light  in  the  two 
first  degrees  which  concern  ends  and  causes ;  but  as  they  have 
need  of  being  directed  in  their  actions,  they  receive  this  light 
in  its  last  degree,  which  concerns  only  effects. 

I  might  here  conclude  this  discussion  upon  the  soul  of  beasts, 
for  it  results  very  evidently  from  what  precedes,  that  beasts 
do  not  receive  life  in  the  complete  state,  and  thus  that  the  esse 
and  existere  not  being  in  them  inseparably  united,  they  could 
not  enjoy  immortality.  But  though  solved  in  principle,  this 
question  of  the  soul  of  beasts  is  so  important,  I  will  seek  to  cor 
roborate  its  solution  by  examining  with  you  the  principal  dif 
ferences  which  exist  between  man  and  beast :  you  will  see  by 
this  examination,  that  these  differences,  which  have  so  much 
occupied  the  attention  of  philosophers,  are  all  explained  by 
means  of  the  principles  that  I  have  now  explained  to  you. 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD. 

Man  being  a  receptacle  of  the  wisdom  and  love  of  God,  has 
been  endowed  with  rationality,  or  the  faculty  of  comprehend 
ing,  and  with  liberty,  or  the  faculty  of  willing  freely  ;  conse 
quently  he  can  reason  upon  ends,  causes,  and  effects. 

Beasts  not  receiving  the  wisdom  of  God  in  the  first  degrees, 
there  is  not  in  them  either  rationality  or  liberty  ;  they  can  nei 
ther  comprehend  nor  will  freely ;  thus  there  is  in  them  neither 
understanding  nor  will ;  but  instead  of  understanding  they  have 
their  science  (commonly  called  instinct),  and  instead  of  will 
they  have  natural  affection.  The  natural  affections,  which  sup 
ply  in  them  the  place  of  the  will,  are  the  affection  of  nourish 
ment,  that  of  shelter,  re-production,  shunning  danger,  and 
avoiding  what  is  hurtful  to  them.  Every  natural  affection  is 
accompanied  with  the  science  which  is  proper  to  it,  and  it  is 
this  science  which  supplies  the  place  of  the  understanding. 
They  have  no  thought,  for  they  are  only  in  the  last  degree ; 
and  this  degree,  without  the  superior  degrees,  gives  no  fac 
ulty  of  thinking  of  anything  whatever  of  moral  or  of  spiritual 
life  ;  but,  instead  of  thought,  they  have  an  internal  sight  which 
makes  one  by  correspondence  with  their  external  sight.  The 
differences  which  we  observe  between  animals  proceed  from 
this,  that  every  discrete  degree  decreases  from  its  most  perfect 
state  even  to  its  most  imperfect  state,  as  light  decreases  to 
shade.  Thus,  also,  animals  decrease;  and  it  is  this  which 
constitutes  the  chain  of  beings  in  the  three  kingdoms,  without 
any  of  these  beings  having  the  power  to  ascend  out  of  the 
last  degree ;  man  alone  is  in  the  three  degrees. 

Man  receives  the  divine  influence  and  appropriates  it,  be 
cause  he  is  endowed  with  rationality  and  liberty. 

The  beast  receives  also  this  influence,  but  does  not  appropri 
ate  it,  because  it  is  deprived  of  rationality  and  liberty. 

Man  being  endowed  with  rationality  and  liberty,  is  not 
born  into  any  science,  because  he  is  capable  of  learning  them 
all. 


84  LETTERS    TO    A 

The  beast,  on  the  contrary,  being  deprived  of  rationality 
and  liberty,  is  born  with  all  its  science,  because  it  is  nol  able 
to  learn  any. 

In  man,  the  will  depends  upon  the  understanding,  because 
h  ?  can  by  his  understanding  elevate  himself  above  the  desires 
of  his  will,  and  because  he  can  thus,  from  this  elevated  point, 
know  them,  see  them,  and  correct  them.  In  the  beast,  the 
understanding  is  in  subjection  to  the  will;  or  rather  its  sci 
ence,  which  is  analogous  to  the  understanding,  is  in  subjection 
to  its  affection,  which  is  analogous  to  the  will.  Beasts  always 
act  according  to  the  laws  of  order  impressed  upon  their  na 
ture  ;  if  some  appear  to  act  morally  and  rationally,  it  is  be 
cause,  being  deprived  of  rationality  and  liberty,  they  have  not 
been  able  like  men  to  pervert  their  science  and  affection  by 
depraved  reasonings.  This  is  the  reason  why  this  science, 
or  this  wonderful  instinct,  with  which  they  are  endowed, 
never  deceives  them ;  this  is  the  reason  why  it  is  always  the 
same.  What  seems  to  be  civil  and  moral  in  them  belongs  to 
their  science,  and  is  not  above  their  science,  since  they  are 
not  in  the  spiritual  degree,  which  gives  the  power  of  per 
ceiving  what  is  moral,  and  afterwards  of  thinking  analytically 
respecting  it.  They  can  also  be  instructed  to  do  some  things, 
but  this  proceeds  only  from  the  natural  which  is  conjoined  to 
their  science,  and  at  the  same  time  to  their  affection,  and  is 
reproduced  either  by  the  sight  or  hearing :  but  this  never  pro 
ceeds  from  thought,  still  less  from  reason. 

Man,  being  in  the  three  discrete  degrees,  can  think  that  he 
wills  such  a  thing,  or  that  he  does  not  will  it ;  that  he  knows 
such  a  thing  or  that  he  does  not  know  it ;  that  he  comprehends 
such  a  thing,  that  he  loves  such  a  thing ;  and  he  can  express 
his  thoughts  by  words. 

It  is  not  the  same  with  the  beast ;  as  it  is  only  in  the  last  sep 
arate  degree,  and  cannot  elevate  itself  into  the  superior  de 
grees,  it  can  only  think  in  a  simultaneous  order,  and  not  in  a 


MAN   OF    THE   WORLD.  85 

successive  order,  which  is  to  act  from  a  science  corresponding 
to  its  affection,  and  not  to  think ;  for  it  cannot  ascend  from 
the  effect  to  the  cause,  nor  from  the  cause  to  the  end.  Now 
as  it  is  impossible  for  it  to  think  analytically,  and  see  the  infe 
rior  thought  by  any  superior  thought,  consequently  it  cannot 
abstract,  nor  thence  speak ;  it  can  only  produce  sounds  which 
relate  to  the  science  .of  its  affection.  Thus  in  all  their  actions, 
beasts  are  led  by  their  affection,  by  means  of  their  science, 
without  rationality  or  liberty;  they  are  thus  led  by  influx 
from  the  spiritual  world;  for  at  the  same  time  that  the  heat 
and  the  light  of  the  natural  world  act  upon  their  material 
bodies,  they  receive  heat  and  light  from  the  spiritual  world, 
and  it  is  this  heat  and  light  which  constitute  their  affection 
and  science. 

I  will  conclude  this  parallel  of  man  with  the  beast,  by  this 
last  remark :  The  man  altogether  sensual  differs  from  the  beast 
only  in  this,  that  he  can  fill  his  memory  with  things  which  he 
has  learned,  and  can  think  and  speak  from  these  things  ;  and 
this,  by  virtue  of  the  faculty  every  man  possesses  of  being 
able  to  comprehend  truth  if  he  is  willing.  It  is  this  faculty 
which  distinguishes  him  from  the  brute  •  but  there  are  many 
men  who  degrade  themselves  below  the  beasts,  by  the  abuse 
of  this  faculty. 

To  reply  to  all  the  points  which  your  objection  has  raised, 
I  would  have  to  explain  to  you  the  origin  of  the  animals  which 
are  in  the  spiritual  world ;  but  this  origin  cannot  be  rational 
ly  understood  without  knowing  the  mode  of  existence  of  men- 
spirits.  As  we  have  not  time  now  to  enter  upon  the  investi 
gation  of  this  subject,  it  will  suffice  for  the  present  to  say, 
that  in  the  spiritual  world  the  representative  forms  of  the 
affections  and  thoughts  of  spirits  appear  as  it  were  living, 
hence  the  appearance  of  animals  which  spirits  see  there. 

If  your  objection  has  compelled  me  to  interrupt  the  course 
of  the  exposition  of  the  spiritual  world,  it  has  at  least  had  the 


86  LETTERS    TO   A 

double  advantage  in  leading  us  to  the  examination  of  one  of 
the  most  important  questions  of  philosophy,  and  to  the  proof, 
by  new  arguments,  not  only  that  man  is  immortal,  but  that  he 
alone  is  endowed  with  immortality. 

Accept,  &c. 


LETTER   VIII. 

I  had  designed,  my  dear  sir,  to  resume  to-day  the  exposition 
respecting  the  spiritual  world ;  but  since  you  have  long  mani 
fested  a  desire  to  have  an  idea  of  the  creation  of  the  universe, 
and  since  this  desire  is  repeated  in  your  last  letter,  I  must  has 
ten  to  satisfy  it.  1  see  besides  so  much  the  less  inconvenience 
in  treating  this  subject,  as  it  will  furnish  you  with  new  means 
to  form  more  easily  a  comprehensive  idea  of  the  spiritual 
world.  Do  not  expect,  however,  a  complete  treatise — the  sub 
ject  would  require  a  volume.  You  wish  only  to  have  an  idea 
of  the  creation  j  it  is  then  simply  a  sketch  which  I  am  about 
to  give  you. 

But  there  is  a  question,  in  advance,  which  I  must  anticipate  ; 
it  is  true  you  have  not  yet  asked  it;  but  you  certainly 
would  ask  it,  for  it  always  presents  itself  to  the  insatiable  cu 
riosity  of  man,  when  he  meditates  upon  the  creation  of  the  uni 
verse. 

This  question  is : 

Can  man  know  what  God  was  before  the  universe  was  created  ? 

You  will  agree  at  once  that  it  matters  little  to  man,  so  far 
as  his  happiness  is  concerned,  to  know  what  God  was  before 
the  creation.  What  advantage  could  he  draw  from  this  knowl 
edge,  if  it  were  even  possible  for  him  to  acquire  it  ?  None 
whatever.  Far  from  being  satisfied,  his  curiosity  would  only 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  87 

be  increased:  and;  pursuing  his  investigations  in  this  unfruit 
ful  field,  he  would  wish  to  go  so  far  as  to  understand  God  in 
his  infinity,  that  is  to  say,  so  far  as  to  wish  to  be  God ;  for  to 
comprehend  God  in  his  infinity,  it  would  be  necessary  to  be 
God.  The  infinite  only  can  comprehend  the  infinite. 

There  are,  nevertheless,  some  spiritualist  <  who  imagine 
that  after  they  have  left  this  world,  there  will  be  no  secret  for 
them ;  that  they  will  know  the  how  and  the  wherefore  of  all 
things.  This  again  is  one  of  the  thousand  errors  of  philosophy. 

Yet  with  little  reflection  upon  the  nature  of  man,  it  is  easy 
to  discover,  that  if  an  intelligent  creature,  whether  man,  spirit, 
or  angel,  could  attain  to  such  a  state  as  to  know  everything, 
arid  consequently  to  have  nothing  to  learn,  it  would  be  to  him 
the  greatest  of  misfortunes.  This  is  not  a  paradox;  it  is  a 
truth  which  it  will  be  easy  for  me  to  prove  when  we  come  to 
treat  of  the  existence  of  man  in  the  other  world. 

What  I  have  just  said  on  the  subject  of  the  infinite  is  appli 
cable  also  to  the  eternal,  for  the  eternal  is  that  whi(ih  is  infi 
nite  as  to  existere. ;  it  is  then  as  impossible  for  any  creature  to 
comprehend  the  eternity  of  God,  as  it  would  be  impossible  to 
comprehend  the  infinity  of  God. 

Besides,  with  man  living  in  this  world,  in  the  midst  of  space 
and  time,  there  is  always  something  of  time  in  the  idea  which 
he  forms  to  himself  of  the  eternal,  just  as  there  is  always 
something  of  space,  in  the  idea  which  he  forms  of  the  infinite. 
Now  as  time  only  exists  by  the  creation  of  the  universe,  it  is 
then  absolutely  impossible  for  him  to  comprehend  what  God 
was  before  time,  that  is  to  say,  before  the  universe  was  created.  It 
is  not,  however,  the  same  with  an  angel  j  though  an  angel 
cannot,  being  a  creature,  comprehend  God  in  his  infinity  or  in 
his  eternity ;  he  can  nevertheless  form  to  himself,  in  some  sort, 
an  idea  of  eternity,  because  the  idea  of  time  no  longer  exists 
with  him,  and  has  been  succeeded  by  the  idea  of  state  ;  for 


88  LETTERS   TO    A 

with  spirits  and  angels  eternity  is  not  an  eternity  of  time,  but 
it  is  an  eternity  of  states,  without  the  idea  of  time. 

This  question  concerning  eternity  having  led  me  to  speak 
to  you  of  the  infinite,  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  remind  you 
here  of  certain  results  to  which  we  arrive,  when,  upon  this 
point,  we  consult  mathematics.  If  it  is  impossible  for  us,  who 
are  continually  in  space,  to  place  ourselves  in  a  complete  state 
of  abstraction  ;  if  philosophical  meditations  offer  us  only  a 
feeble  aid,  seeing  this  aid  is  very  often  but  instantaneous,  and 
disappears  as  soon  as  our  ideas  fall  back  upon  the  things  of 
the  world,  it  is  not  the  same  with  the  exact  sciences,  the  es 
sence  of  which  consists  in  abstracting  all  that  can  oppose  the 
development  of  thought :  the  answers  which  they  give  us, 
when  we  interrogate  them,  are  always  clear,  precise,  and  so 
exactly  formed,  that  they  are  established  with  facility  in  our 
understandings.  Let  us  see  then  what  they  tell  us. 

It  is,  in  the  first  place,  recognised  as  a  principle  that  the 
series  of  numbers  is  illimitable,  since  to  the  greatest  number 
imaginable,  the  addition  of  a  unit  is  sufficient  to  increase  the 
result.  There  are  then  no  efforts  of  the  imagination  which 
can  fix  the  limits  of  the  finite,  or  those  of  space ;  should  we 
add  to  the  unit  line  as  many  ciphers  as  there  as  grains  of  sand 
in  the  sea,  what  we  would  thus  obtain  would  not  be  the  in 
finite  ;  it  would  always  be  a  number  of  which  an  idea  could 
be  formed,  notwithstanding  the  impossibility  of  being  able  to 
determine  or  fix  it.  Thence  it  evidently  results,  that  to  pass 
from  the  finite  to  the  infinite  by  way  of  continuity  is  absolutely 
impossible. 

Other  incontestable  proofs  of  this  impossibility,  are  found  in 
the  surprising  results  to  which  we  arrive  when  the  sign  of  the 
infinite  (signe  de  Vinfini)  is  introduced  into  the  calculation. 
Two  examples  will  suffice  to  convince  you  of  this. 

Let  us  suppose  that  two  parallel  lines  should  have  between 
them  the  distance  which  separates  the  earth  from  the  sun,  or 


MAN    OF   THE   WORLD.  89 

any  other  distance  which  you  may  imagine.  Let  them  be  pro 
longed  in  thought  as  far  as  you  wish,  they  would  constantly 
keep  this  enormous  distance  without  approaching  a  single  hair's 
breadth  during  their  whole  course ;  this  then  is  the  result  of 
the  very  nature  of  these  lines.  But  if  you  introduce  into  the 
calculation  the  sign  of  the  infinite,  which  is  nothing  else  than 
to  abstract  space,  you  discover  that,  in  spite  of  the  immense 
distance  which  separates  them  in  space,  they  meet  however 
at  the  infinite,  without  having  previously  passed  through  any 
intermediate  approach. 

Let  us  take,  for  example,  a  branch  of  the  hyperbola  and  its 
asymptote  which  would  not  have  between  them,  at  a  given 
point,  more  than  the  distance  of  a  millimetre  (un  millimetre). 
Let  us  suppose  these  two  lines  prolonged  as  far  as  the  imagin 
ation  could  permit :  calculation  tells  us  that  they  will  never 
meet,  though  at  every  step,  notwithstanding  the  slight  dis 
tance  which  separated  them  at  the  commencement  of  their 
course,  the  right  line  has  always  approached  the  curve.  If 
we  wish  them  to  unite,  we  are  obliged  to  introduce  into  the 
formula  the  sign  of  the  infinite  (le  signe  de  I'infini)  j  whence 
it  clearly  results,  that  in  nature  there  is  no  longer  any  infinitely 
small,  nor  infinitely  large,  and  that  the  word  infinite,  taken  in 
its  true  acceptation,  cannot  be  applied  to  anything  created. 

And  it  is  said  that  the  study  of  mathematics  leads  men  to 
materialism  !  It  leads  him  only  whose  heart,  already  corrupted, 
is  deaf  to  the  warnings  which  it  gives  and  whose  understand 
ing,  already  perverted,  rejects  the  living  li-_:ht  which  it  pre 
sents.  Is  it  possible,  in  truth,  to  prove  more  evidently  that 
we  must  not  confound  the  infinite  with  the  finite,  nor  conse 
quently  God  with  nature? 

The  science  of  mathematics  is  (as  you  see)  far  from  deserv 
ing  to  incur  the  reproaches  which  have  been  cast  upon  it. 
If  philosophy  arid  theology  had  each  in  its  sphere  developed 
this  high  question,  instead  ol  obscuring  it  by  a  crowd  of  soph- 


90  LETTERS    TO    A 

istries,  there  would  not  have  been  so  many  materialists.  It 
is  then  to  philosophy  and  to  theology  that  the  fault  is  to  be  as 
cribed,  and  not  to  the  sciences,  which  are  so  exact,  that  when 
we  wish  them  to  say  that  which  is  not  true,  they  immediately 
give  the  lie  to  it. 

But  should  it  be  replied,  the  very  examples  which  you  have 
just  given  prove  that  nature  is  without  bounds,  since  it  is  im 
possible  to  determine  them.  Ah  !  what  matters  it  if  she  be 
without  bounds,  if  these  examples  prove,  even  by  the  clearest 
evidence,  that  which  has  no  bounds  preserves  its  quality  of 
finite  and  differs  absolutely  from  the  infinite  ?  What  more 
could  be  said  of  mathematics  ?  Nothing.  But  religious  philoso 
phy  should  have  posessed  herself  of  these  first  data,  and  de 
veloped  instead  of  obscuring  them.  ,': 

If  religious  philosophy,  setting  out  on  true  principles,  viz : 
God  is  Being  itself  (Esse,)  from  whom  and  by  whom  every 
thing  exists;  he  is  the  first  substance  and  first  form  (Forme- 
Type^)  the  only  infinite ;  the  universe  has  been  created  by 
him  to  be  his  image  and  the  representative  theatre  of  his  glory, 
and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  the  universe,  as  an  image  of  the 
infinite,  is  without  bounds  or  indefinite ;  if,  I  say  religious  phil 
osophy  had  held  this  language,  and  taught  that  there  is  be 
tween  the  infinite  and  the  indefinite,  the  same  difference  as  be 
tween  the  first  cause  and  the  effect,  materialism  or  naturalism 
would  not  have  made  such  ravages  in  society. 

If  the  universe,  as  well  the  spiritual  as  the  natural,  had  not 
been  separate  and  distinct  from  the  infinite,  it  could  have  had 
no  existence ;  and  it  is  precisely  that  it  may  have  existence 
that  there  is,  in  its  natural  part,  space  and  time,  and  in  its  spir 
itual  part,  the  appearance  of  space  and  time.  Without  this, 
the  objects  of  the  natural  world  and  those  of  the  spiritual 
world  would  not  have  been  either  distinct  or  varied,  or  to  speak 
with  more  exactness,  there  would  not  have  been  any  objects  nor 


MAN    OF   THE  WORLD.  91 

consequently  creation  j  all  would  have  been  confounded  in  the 
infinite. 

I  recollect  very  well,  my  dear  sir,  that  you  have  no  sympa 
thy  for  naturalism ;  but  the  occasion  having  presented  itself,  I 
thought  it  would  not  be  inappropriate  before  passing  to  the 
creation,  to  show  you  that  mathematics  themselves  establish  a 
distinction  between  God  and  the  universe.  Besides,  these 
general  considerations  upon  the  infinite  are  not  foreign  to  the 
subject  which  we  are  discussing1,  and  cannot  but  dispose  you 
the  better  to  comprehend  the  whole. 

I  come  now  to  the  creation ;  and  since  you  desire  to  have 
only  a  general  sketch,  I  will  confine  myself  to  the  examination 
of  the  three  following  questions :  — 

1st.  Whence  proceeds  the  universe? 

2d.  Could  the  universe  have  been  created,  if  God  were  not 
Very  Man  ?  (VHomme  Meme.) 

3d.  How  has  God-Man  created  the  universe? 

I    Whence  proceeds  the  Universe  ? 

I  have  already  told  you  that  God  has  not  created  the  uni 
verse  out  of  nothing ;  this  is  one  of  those  truths  which  every 
man  endowed  with  sound  reason  may  at  once  acknowledge, 
because  he  sees,  without  being  able  to  doubt,  that  it  is  impossi 
ble  to  make  something  from  nothing  j  for  nothing  is  absolute 
negation  ;  and  from  this  negation  an  affirmation  cannot  proceed  j 
between  these  two  ideas  there  exists  then  a  manifest  contradic 
tion.  To  pretend  that  God  has  taken  the  universe  from  chaos, 
would  not  resolve  the  difficulty,  but  render  it  more  complica 
ted  j  for  it  would  be  necessary  to  tell  what  this  chaos  is,  and 
whence  this  chaos  itself  could  have  been  taken.  In  fine,  the 
universe  has  not  created  itself,  since  it  has  just  been  proved, 
that  God  and  the  universe  are  absolutely  distinct  j  and  that  the 
one  is  the  first  cause,  and  the  other  the  effect  produced  by  this 
cause. 

The  universe  must  then  necessarily  have  been  created  from 


9«  LETTERS  TO    A 

a  substance,  which  is  itself  substance,  or  substance  in  itself, 
for  this  is  Being  Itself,  from  which  proceed  all  things  which 
are ;  now.  as  God  is  substance  itself,  or  substance  in  itself,  and 
consequently  Being  Itself,  or  Esse,  it  evidently  results  from 
this,  that  all  that  which  exists  has  been  created  from  God  and 
by  God.  Thus  it  is  from  God  that  the  universe  proceeds. 

Remember,  always,  that  created  objects  are  only  the  mani 
festation  of  Being,  or  Esse,  without  for  that  reason  having 
Being,  or  Esse,  in  themselves ;  since  if  they  had  Being,  or 
Essc,  in  themselves,  they  would  be  a  portion  of  the  Divinity, 
which  cannot  be  admitted.  The  cause  is  in  the  effect,  but 
the  effect  is  not  a  portion  of  the  cause  :  this  we  have  already 
acknowledged.  The  being  or  esse  or  man  is  nothing  else  than 
a  recipient  of  what  proceeds  from  God ;  for  life,  as  we  have 
seen  is  one,  and  God  alone  is  this  one  only  life.  Men,  spirits, 
and  angels  are  but  recipients  or  forms  which  receive  life  pro 
ceeding  from  God  :  and  the  reception  of  life  is  what  is  called 
existere.  Man  believes  that  he  is ;  he  believes  even  that  he  is 
of  himself,  and  yet  he  is  not  of  himself,  but  he  exists.  To  be, 
Being  or  Esse,  is  only  in  God.  Thus  creation  was  the  opera 
tion  by  which  the  Esse,  to  be,  or  Being,  clothed  himself  with 
the  Existere. 

It  is  so  conformable  to  reason  to  think  that  the  existence  of 
all  things  comes  from  God  and  from  his  Esse,  or  Being,  that 
we  have  met  with  many  religious  men  who  have  had  this 
thought ;  but  they  have  rejected  it  in  the  fear  of  being  led  to 
believe  that  the  universe  is  God,  or  that  the  inmost  principle 
of  nature  is  that  which  should  be  called  God.  This  fear  came 
from  this,  that  they  thought  from  time  and  space,  which  are 
proper  to  nature ;  and  from  this,  that  it  is  impossible  to  com 
prehend  creation,  without  abstracting  from  the  thought  these 
two  accidents  inherent  in  matter. 

Since  the  universe  was  created  from  God  and  by  God,  and 
yet  is  not  God,  it  must  necessarily  be  an  emanation  from  God. 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  93 

The  truth  has  also  been  partly  seen  by  many  philosophers  j 
but  for  want  of  the  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  discrete  de~ 
grees,  these  philosophers  have  fallen  into  the  most  serious 
errors.  If  this  theory  had  been  at  their  disposal,  they  would 
have  known  that  these  three  degrees  exist  in  all  created 
things,  and  are  with  them  as  the  end,  the  cause,  and  the  effect. 
Then  they  would  have  understood  that  material  nature  in  the 
work  of  creation  was  only  the  last  degree  of  the  divine  ray 
(rayon,)  and  that  this  degree  served  to  envelope,  and  to  clothe 
the  substances  arid  spiritual  forms  which  are  in  the  two  supe 
rior  degrees.  Of  this  I  hope  soon  to  convince  you. 

From  all  that  precedes  we  must  conclude  that  the  universe 
is  from  God,  aud  that  he  has  been  manifested  by  an  emanation 
from  his  Being  or  Esse. 

II.  Could  the  Universe  have  been  created,  if  God  was  not  Very 
Man? 

I  have  proposed  this  question  in  order  to  meet  an  objection 
which  you  without  doubt  would  have  made.  You  have  not 
forgotten, — for  it  is  a  point  upon  which  I  have  much  insisted  by 
reason  of  its  importance — you  have  not,  I  say,  forgotten  that  I 
have  established  as  a  principle,  in  my  fourth  letter,  that  God 
is  VERY  MAN,  and  that  if  we  have  the  human  form,  it  is  be 
cause  we  wrere  created  in  his  image.  But,  now  that  we  have 
to  treat  concerning  the  creation  of  ihe  universe  by  God,  you 
will  not  fail  to  say  to  me :  Is  it  possible  that  G;  d,  being  Man, 
could  have  drawn  the  universe  from  liimself.  and  given  it  the 
form  which  it  has?  As  this  apparent  impossibility  is  of  a 
nature  to  raise  doubts  in  your  mind  which  could  not  be  re 
moved  but  in  another  letter,  I  have  preferred  showing  you  at 
once,  here,  not  only  that  God  was  able  as  Man,  to  create  the 
universe,  but  more,  that  he  could  not  have  been  able  to  create 
this  universe,  if  he  were  not  Man. 

The  universe  very  evidently  attests  the  Love  and  the  Wis 
dom  of  him  who  created  it  j  it  is  only  Love  divine  which  has 


94  LETTERS  TO    A 

been  able  to  furnish  for  it  all  its  substance  j  it  is  only  the  di 
vine  Wisdom  which  has  been  able,  in  impressing  upon  it  its 
form,  to  order  so  harmoniously  all  its  parts.  Now  it  is  impos 
sible  that  love  and  wisdom  should  exist  without  a  subject  :  and 
this  subject  is  man  ;  to  separate  these  two  attributes  from 
their  subjects,  is  to  say  that  they  do  not  exist.  Can  you  con 
ceive  of  wisdom  out  of  man  ?  Would  it  not  be  necessary  for 
you  to  place  it  somewhere  to  give  it  a  form  ?  and  what  form 
could  you  give  it  superior  to  that  of  man  ?  And  what  I  have 
just  said  of  wisdom  is  applicable  also  to  love,  for  the  form  of 
wisdom  is  that  of  love,  since  love  and  wisdom  are  inseparable 
and  make  one  as  substance  and  form. 

You  can  see  by  this  how  vain  are  the  ideas  of  those  who 
represent  to  themselves  God,  who  is  Love  itself  and  Wisdom 
itself,  otherwise  than  as  Man,  and  who  place  the  divine  attri 
butes  elsewhere  than  in  God-Man.  If  the  divine  love  and  the 
divine  wisdom  were  not  in  God-Man,  and  if  one  did  not  con 
stitute  the  substance,  and  the  other  the  form  of  God-Man,  these 
two  principal  attributes  of  the  Divinity,  being  nothing  more 
than  imaginary  entities,  the  universe  could  not  have  been  cre 
ated  ;  for  it  is  evident  that  the  universe  must  have  been  pro 
duced  by  love  and  formed  by  wisdom. 

If,  however,  you  should  represent  to  yourself  God-Man  as  a 
man  of  this  world,  and  if  you  should  think  of  him  by  the  sim 
ple  natural  idea,  it  would  be  impossible  for  you  to  comprehend 
how  he  was  able,  as  man,  to  create  the  universe  and  all  which 
it  contains  j  but  if  you  think  of  him  by  the  spiritual  idea,  ab 
stracting  space  and  time,  you  will  then  be  able  to  perceive 
that  God-man  could  be  present  in  all  his  work,  and  create  it 
instantaneously;  for  the  universe  was  not  created  from  space 
to  space,  nor  from  one  time  to  another  ;  it  was  from  a  single 
cast.  This  besides  is  what  physical  laws  sufficiently  demon 
strate  ;  the  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies  are  so  connected 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  95 

with  one  another,  that  the  whole  must  necessarily  have  been 
arranged  at  the  same  instant.* 

Is  it  not  true  that  man,  though  his  thought  be  in  him,  and 
though  he  remain  in  one  place,  may  nevertheless  by  this 
thought  be  present  elsewhere,  in  any  place  whatever,  and  even 
in  a  place  the  most  remote  from  him  ?  Such  also  is  the  state 
of  spirits  arid  of  angels,  even  as  to  their  bodies ;  for  you  know 
that  they  are  men,  and  that  their  bodies  are  spiritual.  If  their 
thought  is  fixed  upon  a  place,  they  are  actually  there  and  in 
body,  because  in  the  world  which  they  inhabit  spaces  and 
distances  are  appearances,  and  only  make  one  with  the  thought 
which  proceeds  from  affection.  Now,  if  in  the  natural  world 
man  can  already  in  thought  transport  himself  instantaneously 
whither  he  pleases ;  if  in  the  spiritual  world,  the  man-spirit  is 
always  where  his  thought  is,  why  should  we  refuse  to  admit 
that  God  who  is  VERY  MAN  (PHomme-Type),  should  have 
been  able,  as  man,  to  be  present  in  all  the  work  of  creation  j 
He  who  in  this  quality  of  infinite,  is  the  same  in  the  first  as 
in  the  last,  in  the  greatest  as  in  the  least  objects  j  He  who 

*  We  are  not  entirely  sure  of  apprehending  the  author  in  the  sense  in 
which  he  would  here  be  understood,  in  saying  that  the  creation  of  the 
universe  was  necessarily  instantaneous,  It  is  very  certain,  we  think, 
that  our  solar  system,  for  instance,  was  not  created  at  once  in  its  pre 
sent  state,  for  the  evidence  is  overwhelming  of  progressive  formations, 
from  simpler  elements,  and  going  on  through  immeasurable  tracts  of 
time ;  and  this  would  seem  to  be  a  fair  deduction  from  Swedenborg's 
theory  of  Atmospheric  Creations,  so  strikingly  unfolded  by  the  author 
in  what  follows.  If,  however,  he  means  that  the  original  projection 
of  the  universe  as  the  act  of  the  Divine  Mind,  was  instantaneous,  we 
can  better  grasp  the  idea,  although  we  are  still  doubtful  whether  even 
this  be  not  assuming  a  more  distinct  conception  on  the  subject  than  the 
human  faculties  are  at  present  capable  of  attaining.  But  the  reader  is 
referred  to  Swedenborg's  "  Divine  Love  and  Wisdom,"  No.  156,  where 
he  treats  of  this  point,  and  expresses  himself  in  language  that  seems, 
at  first  blush,  to  convey  the  same  idea  with  that  of  the  passage  before 
us,  but  which  is,  if  we  mistake  not,  designedly  more  abstract  and  tran 
scendental,  and  that,  too,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  theme  ;  for  there 
is  nothing  that  so  baffles  our  feeble  powers  as  the  origin  in  time  of  the 
material  universe,— ED. 


96  LETTERS    TO    A 

fills  all  spaces  without  being  in  space,  and  all  times  without 
being  in  time :  He  who  consequently  could  not  be  continuous 
as  is  the  inmost  principle  of  nature,  since  he  is  not  in  space  ? 

It  would  be  to  have  a  false  idea  of  the  infinite,  and  to  miscon 
ceive  the  true  nature  of  God-Man,  if  in.  thinking  of  his  Human 
Body,  any  invariable  stature  whatever,  whether  great  or  small, 
should  be  given  to  him  ;  for  this  would  be  to  think  from  space. 
But  we  can  and  ought  to  represent  to  ourselves  God-Man  from 
the  appearance  of  space,  for  it  is  thus,  when  he  judges  it  to  be 
useful,  that  he  presents  himself  to  spirits  and  angels,  who  then 
see  his  Human  Body  under  a  form  in  relation  to  the  state  in 
which  they  are  as  to  the  reception  of  love  and  wisdom ;  and 
this  visible  presence  of  God  agrees  perfectly  with  his  continu 
al  omnipresence  in  the  universe  which  he  governs. 

Thus  creation  may  be  understood,  if  space  and  time  are  re 
moved  from  the  thought.  Divest  yourself  of  them  therefore 
as  much  as  possible,  and  then  you  will  perceive  that  there  is 
no  difference  between  what  is  the  greatest  and  least  of  space. 
Then  you  will  not  be  able  to  have  any  other  idea  of  the  crea 
tion  of  the  universe  than  that  of  the  creation  of  every  part  of 
this  universe  :  you  will  understand  that  the  diversity  in  created 
things  is  from  this,  that  infinites  are  in  God-man  and  indefinites 
in  the  first  proceeding  from  God,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  spirit 
ual  sun  ;  and  that  these  indefinites  exist  in  the  created  universe 
as  in  an  image. 

Hence  the  impossibility  of  finding  in  any  place  whatever,  one 
thing  like  another ;  thence  the  indefinite  variety  of  all  the  ob 
jects  which  we  behold. 

III.  How  has  God-Man  created  the  universe^ 

We  have  already  seen  that  God  created  the  universe,  not 
from  space  to  space,  nor  from  one  time  to  another,  but  by  a 
single  cast ;  and  that  the  universe  is  an  emanation  from  the 

Divinity. 
But  that  you  may  the  better  understand  the  important  sub- 


MAN  OF   THE  WORLD.  97 

ject  which  engages  our  attention,  I  will  have  recourse  to  analo 
gy,  and  proceed  from  the  known,  for  experience  proves  suffi 
ciently  that  human  reason  does  not  acquiesce  in  a  thing  which 
we  ask  it  to  admit,  but  so  far  as  she  can  perceive  how  this  was 
done. 

Man  having  been  created  in  the  image  and  according  to  the 
likeness  of  God,  who  is  VERY  MAN,  it  is  in  directing  our  ex 
amination  to  man  that  we  shall  be  enabled  to  discover  by  anal 
ogy  how  God  created  the  universe. 

It  is  now  generally  admitted  by  science  that  a  sphere  of  na 
tural  emanations  continually  proceeds  from  the  body  of  a  man, 
as  well  as  from  the  bodies  of  animals,  trees,  fruits,  flowers,  and 
even  from  metals.  This  sphere,  composed  of  fluids  for  the 
most  part  aeriform,  and  consequently  invisible,  is  more  intense 
than  would  at  first  be  believed,  and  extends  itself  to  great  dis 
tance.  The  insensible  transpiration,  whose  emission  is  so  vol 
uminous  and  so  surprising  may  give  us  an  idea  of  the  intensity 
of  this  sphere,  and  the  emanations  which  affect  the  smell  may 
show  us  how  much  it  is  susceptible  of  development.  Man 
may  then  be  represented  as  plunged  in  an  ocean  of  aeriform 
fluids  which  emanate  from  his  own  body.  All  these  emana 
tions  though  not  visible,  are  evidently  material  j  but  man  in 
this  world  being  both  spiritual  and  material,  that  is  to  say,  hav 
ing  a  natural  body,  and  a  spiritual  body,  and  these  two  bodies 
being  connected  together  by  laws  of  analogy,  theje  must  also 
from  the  spiritual  body  of  man  constantly  emanate  a  spiritual 
sphere  analogous  to  the  material  sphere  which  envelops  his  natu 
ral  body;  a  simple  examination  will  at  once  make  this  evident. 

When  it  is  known  that  the  affections  and  thoughts  are  actu 
ally  spiritual  substances  and  forms,  it  is  directly  seen  that  if  a 
spiritual  sphere  emanates  from  man,  it  cannot  consist  but  in 
affections  and  the  thoughts  which  are  derived  from  theso  af 
fections  and  which  constitute  their  forms.  Thence  it  is  easy 
to  be  convinced  that  such  a  sphere  exists  around  every  man  j 


LETTERS    TO    A 

it  is  sufficient  for  this  to  direct  our  reflections  to  the  astonish 
ing  phenomena  which  sympathies  and  antipathies  present.  If 
two  persons  who  have  never  seen  each  other,  who  do  not  even 
know  each  other  by  name,  experience  at  the  first  meeting 
sympathy  for  one  another,  it  is  because  their  spiritual  spheres 
are  homogeneous  and  directly  harmonize;  if  on  the  contra 
ry  they  experience  suddenly  an  antipathy  wh  ch  they  cannot 
account  for,  it  is  because  their  spiritual  spheres  are  heteroge 
neous  and  repel  each  other.  How  many  other  phenomena, 
still  more  extraordinary,  would  find  their  explanation  by 
means  of  these  spheres,  and  would  go  consequently  to  confirm 
their  existence !  But  this  is  not  the  place  to  occupy  ourselves 
in  discussing  them;  we  will  examine  these  phenomena  when 
we  shall  have  acquired  a  more  complete  knowledge  of  the 
spiritual  world.  It  is  sufficient  for  the  present  to  have  verified 
the  existence  of  spiritual  spheres. 

I  will  add  that  the  natural  sphere  and  the  spiritual  sphere 
which  envelope  and  surround  men,  correspond  10  each  other, 
as  all  natural  objects  correspond  to  spiritual  objects;  that  they 
are  not  the  man,  as  it  is  very  easy  to  persuade  himself,  is  ihat 
they  derive  their  existence  from  man,  and  do  not  make  one 
with  him  but  in  this  sense,  that  being  extracted  from  his  two 
bodies  there  is  agreement  between  them  and  man  ;  that  the 
one  drawing  its  existence  from  all  parts  of  the  natural  body, 
and  the  other,  from  all  parts  of  the  spiritual,  they  are  constant 
ly  supported  by  the  natural  and  spiritual  substances  which 
emanate  from  them ;  that  the  substances  which  are  contiguous 
to  these  bodies  are  continually  put  into  activity  by  the  two 
sources  of  the  motion  of  life,  the  heart  and  the  lungs  ;  that 
these  contiguous  substances  communicate  of  their  activity  to 
those  which  surround  them,  these  to  others,  and  thus  from 
one  to  another,  so  that  the  more  the  emanations  are  ren*)ved 
from  the  substances  contiguous  to  the  two  bodies  of  man,  the 
less  activity  do  they  receive. 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  99 

Now  if  we  ascend  from  the  creature  to  the  Creator,  we 
shall  experience  no  further  difficulty  in  comprehending  that 
God-Man  could  extract  the  universe  from  himself  without,  for 
that  reason,  its  being  confounded  with  him.  It  is  very  evi 
dent  that  if  man,  created  in  the  image  of  God,  is  surrounded 
with  a  sphere  of  emanations,  it  is  because  God,  who  is  VERY 
MAN,  is  himself  surrounded  with  a  sphere  of  emanations.  It  is 
these  emanations  from  God-Man  which  have  constituted  and 
which  vivify  continually  the  whole  universe,  as  well  its  spirit 
ual  as  its  natural  part. 

The  first  sphere  which  proceeded  from  God  in  the  work  of 
creation,  is  the  spiritual  sun,  in  the  centre  of  which  he  resides 
as  a  Being  infinite,  eternal,  invisible,  unapproachable.  Con 
sidered  thus  in  his  very  essence,  it  is  said  of  him  that  no  one 
can  see  God  and  live  ;  but  I  have  already  told  you,  and  soon 
you  will  be  joyfully  convinced,  that  God,  having  created  man 
to  love  him,  and  to  be  beloved  by  him,  to  satisfy  his  divine 
love,  has  actually  rendered  himself  visible  and  accessible. 

The  spiritual  sun,  being  the  sphere  contiguous  to  God,  is  no 
more  God,  than  the  emanations  which  from  the  spiritual  sphere 
contiguous  to  man,  are  man.  This  again  is  a  new  proof  of  this 
important  truth  that  the  universe  proceeds  from  God  by  con 
tiguity  and  not  by  continuity,  and  consequently  that  it  is  im 
possible  when  the  true  principles  are  known,  to  confound  na 
ture  with  God. 

It  is  by  the  intermediation  of  the  spiritual  sun  that  the  uni 
verse  was  created,  and  it  is  also  by  its  means  that  it  subsists. 
The  substances  which  compose  this  sun  are  continually  put  into 
activity  by  the  two  sources  of  the  motion  of  the  only  life,  the 
heart  and  lungs  of  God-Man,  inexhaustible  sources  of  the  divine 
Love  and  the  divine  Wisdom.  It  is  thus  that  the  tirst  proceed 
ing  of  God  is  a  centre  of  Life ;  its  heat  is  love,  the  principle 
of  all  affections,  and  its  light  is  wisdom,  source  of  ail  thought. 

At  the  same  instant  when  the  spiritual  sun  was  created,  the 


100 


LETTERS    TO    A 


sun  of  our  world  received  existence :  it  was  by  contiguity,  and 
not  by  continuity,  the  last  term  of  the  Divine  sphere,  whose  spir 
itual  sun  was  the  first  term  •  so  that,  in  the  work  of  creation, 
God  was  the  firet  end,  the  spiritual  sun  the  second  end  or  the 
cause,  and  the  natural  sun  the  last  end  or  the  effect.  It  is  by 
these  two  suns,  the  one  purely  spiritual,  diffusing  love  by  its 
heat  and  wisdom  by  its  light ;  and  the  other,  elementary  fire, 
distributing  a  heat  and  light  purely  material— it  is,  I  say,  by 
these  two  suns  that  were  produced  all  things  which  exist  in 
the  spiritual  uuiverse,  and  in  the  part  of  the  material  universe 
which  comprehends  our  solar  system ;  the  first  of  these  suns, 
the  centre  of  life,  acting  with  all  the  activity  of  love  and  wis 
dom,  and  the  second,  deprived  of  life,  receiving  and  communi 
cating  passively  the  impulsion  which  is  given  to  it.  Thus  God 
is  in  ends,  the  spiritual  world  in  causes,  and  the  natural  world 
in  effects. 

I  said  before,  on  the  subject  of  the  emanations  which  pro 
ceed  from  man,  that  the  more  remote  these  emanations  are 
from  the  sphere  contiguous  to  man,  the  less  activity  they  re 
ceive.  This  fact  is  so  evident  that  I  rest  content  with  merely 
announcing  it.  However,  as  I  am  going  to  rely  upon  it  in  pre 
senting  to  you  the  principal  details  of  creation,  I  will  here 
confirm  it  by  this  simple  observation  upon  odoriferous  spheres, 
that  the  farther  we  remove  from  the  object,  whence  they 
emanate,  the  less  the  odor  is  perceived. 

Thus  the  more  remote  the  emanations  from  the  spiritual  sun, 
the  less  activity  have  they  received.  This  principle  granted, 
it  remains  to  establish  what  must  have  been  the  first  nature 
of  the  emanations  which  proceeded  from  that  sun.  The  most 
simple  ideas  of  natural  things  prove  that  the  individual  exis 
tence  of  things  depends  not  solely  upon  this  that  they  are  sub 
stances  and  forms,  but  that  from  the  nature  of  things  and  all 
necessity,  they  must  be  surrounded  with  atmospheres  which 
retain,  by  their  force  of  compression  every  substance  in  its 


MAN    OF   THE   WORLD.  101 

form.  Besides,  it  is  known  that  the  heat  and  light  of  the  na 
tural  sun  must  necessarily,  in  order  to  act  with  efficacy,  be 
tempered  by  the  atmospheres  which  they  pass  through. 

Now  the  spiritual  world  including  objects  corresponding  to 
those  our  world  contains,  analogy  demonstrates  that  every  spir 
itual  substance  can  only  be  retained  in  its  form  by  means 
of  spiritual  atmospheres,  and  that  love  and  wisdom  which  are 
the  heat  and  light  of  the  spiritual  sun,  must  from  necessity,  in 
order  to  act  with  efficacy,  be  tempered  by  these  atmospheres. 
Thence  it  evidently  results  that  the  first  nature  of  the  emana 
tions  which  proceeded  from  the  spiritual  sun  and  the  sun  of 
our  world,  was  gaseous  or  atmospheric. 

I  speak  here  of  many  atmospheres,  because  there  are  actu 
ally  several  in  each  world.  You  know  that  certain  learned 
men  have  already  admitted,  under  the  name  of  ether,  a  sub 
stance  more  subtle  and  pure  than  the  atmospheric  air ;  it  would 
not  then  be  extraordinary  when  we  say  that  there  exis  s  anoth 
er  still  more  subtle  and  pure  than  ether.  It  is  this  indeed 
which  the  science  of  degrees  proves  :  this  science  which  gives 
a  key  to  unlock  the  causes  of  things,  teaches  us  that  in  every 
thing  there  are  the  three  separate  degrees,  which  bear  relation 
to  each  other  as  the  en  /,  the  cause,  arid  the  effect,  or  aspn'or,  pos- 
terior,  and  last ;  that  each  decree  is  distinguished  from  the  other 
by  its  proper  envelopes ;  that  all  the  degrees  are  at  the  same 
time  distinguished  by  a  common  envelope  covering,  and  that 
the  common  envelope  communicates  with  the  interiors  and 
with  the  inmosts,  which  com  r  unication  by  degrees  produces 
the  conjunction  and  unanimous  action  of  all  the  parts  of  which 
the  thing  is  composed.  T.ms,  in  animals,  the  muscle  is  a 
compound  of  moving  fibres,  which  are  themselves  composed 
of  smaller  fibres ;  the  nerve  is  a  compound  of  fibres  themselves 
formed  of  fibrils  (very  small  fibres);  in  vegetables  there  are 
assemblages  of  ti'amenls  in  a  triple  order;  in  metals  and 
stones  there  are  also  accumulations  of  parts  in  a  triple  order. 


102  LETTERS   TO   A 

Since  all  the  visible  bodies  of  nature  are  in  this  triple  order, 
it  must  be  the  same  with  the  natural  atmosphere ;  whence 
from  analogy  we  conclude  that  it  is  also  the  same  with  the  spir 
itual  atmosphere.  Thus  there  are  in  each  world  three  atmos 
pheres,  which  are  distinguished  from  each  other  according  to 
the  three  separate  degrees,  or,  to  use  other  terms,  which 
exist  in  relation  to  each  other  as  the  end,  the  cause,  and  the 
effect  or  as  the  inmost  of  a  thing,  its  interior  or  middle,  and  its 
ultimate  or  totality. 

The  distinction  of  these  three  atmospheres,  according  to  the 
three  separate  degrees,  causes  each  of  them  to  have  its  own  con 
tinuous  degrees.  Thus  each  of  them,  according  to  the  contin 
uous  degrees,  becomes  so  much  the  more  inert,  and  so  much 
the  more  dense,  the  more  it  approaches  its  ultimate  term  or 
inferior  places  as  experience  proves  in  respect  to  the  last  natu 
ral  atmosphere,  which  is  our  atmospheric  air. 

By  means  of  these  plain  truths  concerning  the  atmospheres, 
it  will  be  easy  now  to  conceive  of  the  creation  at  once,  and  in 
one  connected  idea.  The  emanations  from  the  spiritual  sun 
were  three  spiritual  atmospheres,  all  three  distinct,  though 
the  second  was  composed  of  the  tirst,  and  the  third  was  com 
posed  of  the  first  and  second. 

Each  of  these  atmospheres,  in  its  progression  away  from 
the  spiritual  sun,  losing  continually  some  of  its  activity  and  ex 
pansion,  became  more  and  more  inert  and  dense  j  and  at  last 
the  parts  the  most  remote  from  it,  attained  tc  such  a  degree  of 
inertness  and  density,  that  they  ceased  to  be  atmospheric 
fluids  and  became  snbstances  at  rest.  They  arc  substances 
at  rest  which  constitute  the  earths  of  the  spiritual  world  :  and 
these  earths,  like  the  atmospheres  whence  they  draw  their  or 
igin,  are  distinguished  from  one  another  according  to  the 
three  separate  degrees.  In  the  sequel  I  will  enter  more  at 
large  into  the  details  concerning  these  earths  of  the  spiritual 
world. 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  103 

The  natural  sun  acting  conjointly  with  the  spiritual  sun,  and 
receiving  impulsion  from  it,  the  emanations  which  proceeded 
from  it  were  three  natural  atmospheres  corresponding  to  the 
three  spiritual  atmospheres.  So,  though  al]  three  distinct,  the 
second  was  composed  of  the  first,  and  the  third  was  composed 
of  the  (irst  and  second.  In  like  manner,  each  of  these  atmos 
pheres,  in  its  progression  away  from  the  natural  sun,  losing 
continually  some  of  its  activity  and  expansion,  became  more 
and  more  inert,  and  more  and  more  dense ;  and  at  last,  the 
parts  the  most  remote  attained  to  such  a  degree  of  inertness 
and  density,  that  they  ceased  to  be  atmospheric  fluids,  and  be 
came  those  fixed  substances  which  we  call  matters.  Never 
theless,  as  these  fixed  substances  owe  their  origin  to  the  at 
mospheres,  they  retained  in  them  an  effort  and  a  tendency  to 
produce  uses,  that  is  to  say,  to  produce  that  which  is  confor 
mable  to  the  order  established  by  the  Creator.  Each  of  these 
substances  included  iri  it  the  three  separate  degrees,  being 
composed«of  fixed  parts  which  had  their  derivation  from  the 
three  natural  atmospheres ;  the  parts  derived  from  the 
first  atmosphere  constituted  its  inmost,  and  the  parts  derived 
from  the  second  constituted  its  interior.  Thence  is  the  origin 
of  the  planets  and  their  satellites,  and  of  the  indefinitely  varied 
matters  which  constitute  them.  Thus  nothing  exists  but  from 
a  something  prior  to  itself,  and  so  on  from  a  First.  This  First 
is  the  sun  of  the  spiritual  world ;  and  the  First  of  this  sun  is 
God-Man.  The  prior  (or  things  next  to  the  first)  are  the  at 
mospheres  by  which  this  sun  penetrates  into  the  last  bounda 
ries  of  creation.  Those  who  do  not  establish  the  creation  of 
the  universe  by  continual  intermediations  proceeding  from  the 
first,  do  but  imagine  incoherent  hypotheses,  altogether  discon 
nected  from  their  causes. 

This  general  view  of  the  creation  is  found  confirmed  as  to 
what  relates  to  our  world,  by  the  recent  discoveries  of  science. 

Chemistry  has  proved  the  possibility  of   reducing  the   most 


104  LETTERS   TO   A 

solid  bodies  to  the  gaseous  state,  whence  it  reciprocally  results 
that  gases  could  pass  to  the  solid  state. 

Newton  placed  in  etherial  matter  the  origin  of  all  things 
which  exist  j  and  according  to  La  Place,  the  greatest  geome 
trician  of  our  age,  "  it  could  only  be  a  fluid  of  an  immense  ex 
tent  which  has  given  birth  to  our  planets,  and  that  fluid  has  at 
first  surrounded  the  sun  as  an  atmosphere  '}  it  was  upon  the 
successive  limits  of  this  atmosphere,  and  by  the  condensation 
of  the  zones  which  it  was  obliged  to  separate  from  in  receding, 
that  were  formed  all  the  planets  of  our  system,  as  well  as 
their  satellites."  (Exposition  of  the  System  of  the  World,  Book 
V.  Ch  9).  P.  Cuvier  expresses  himself  thus  on  the  assertion  of 
La  Place :  "  The  conjecture  of  M.  de  la  Place,  that  the  mate 
rials  of  which  the  globe  is  composed  must  have  been  at  first 
elastic,  and  have  successively  in  cooling  taken  the  liquid  con 
sistency,  and  afterwards  the  solid,  is  much  strengthened  by  the 
recent  experience  of  Mr.  Mittcherlich,  who  ha?  compounded 
from  parts,  and  caused  to  chrystalize,  by  the  fire  of  high  fur 
naces,  many  kinds  of  minerals  which  enter  into  the'  composi 
tion  of  primitive  mountains."  (Discourse  upon  the  Revolutions 
of  the  Earth,  p.  11). 

The  more  progress  the  natural  sciences  make,  the  more  this 
theory  of  Swedenborg,  on  the  material  creation,  will  be  found 
to  be  scientifically  confirmed. 

I  will  here  close  this  sketch  of  the  creation.  If,  however, 
you  desire  more  light  on  this  subject,  I  will  refer  you  to  the 
treatise  of  Swedenborg,  where  you  will  be  able  to  find  it,  viz. 
"Angelic  Wisdom  concerning  the  Divine  Love  and  Wisdom," 
As  to  the  creation  such  as  it  is  reported  in  Genesis,  it  will 
suffice  to  read  the  record  of  Moses  to  be  convinced  that  this  in 
no  wise  relates  to  the  material  creation.  I  have  already  told 
you  that  I  am  a  Christian  in  all  the  extension  of  this  word 
taken  in  its  true  acceptation  ;  thus  I  have  for  the  Bible  the 
greatest  veneration ;  and  my  reason  agreeing  with  my  heart, 


MAN   OF    THE  WORLD.  105 

tells  me  that  this  Book  is  the  Word  of  God.  I  hope  some  day 
to  cause  you  to  partake  with  me  in  my  convictions  on  this  im 
portant  point :  for  I  will  demonstrate  to  you  that  the  numerous 
apparent  contradictions  which  we  meet  with  in  the  Bible  are 
all  consistently  explained,  when  we  are  in  possession  of  the 
key  which  unlocks  the  inexhaustible  treasures  that  it  contains. 
But,  for  the  present,  I  will  content  myself  in  telling  you  that, 
while  apparently  treating  of  things  of  this  world,  the  Bible  in 
reality  only  treats  of  spiritual  things,  and  that  the  first  chapter 
of  Genesis  speaks  solely  of  the  spiritual  creation  of  man,  that 
is  to  say,  of  his  regeneration.  Accept,  &c. 


LETTER  IX. 

I  have  experienced  much  pleasure,  my  dear  sir,  in  learning 
that  my  last  letter  has  made  you  familiar  with  the  idea  of 
God-Man,  and  that  you  have  not  the  least  repugnance  to  con 
sidering  the  Creator  under  the  human  form.  In  this  you  have 
made  an  immense  advance.  The  difficulties  which  spiritual 
theories  ordinarily  present  will  henceforth  disappear  from  be 
fore  you  ;  for  everything  depends  upon  the  idea  which  is 
formed  of  God:  if  this  idea  is  just  we  can  easily  conceive  of 
the  bonds  which  unite  God,  the  universe,  and  man  ;  we  can 
comprehend  the  system  of  the  world ;  but  if  this  is  false,  our 
efforts,  however  great,  will  be  vain.  This  explains  to  you  why 
philosophers  rest  in  the  impossibility  of  conceiving  an  idea  of 
the  creation,  and  why  this  impossibility  no  longer  exists  with 
the  disciples  of  the  New  Church. 

To  philosophical  spiritualists  God  is  a  pure  spirit,  or  rather 
an  imaginary  Entity,  since  according  to  their  idea  a  spirit  has 
neither  substance  nor  form.  With  so  vague  an  idea  of  the 


IOC  LETTERS    TO    A 

Divinity,  how  could  they  ratio- tally  conceive  of  the  creation  of 
the  universe  ?  Is  it  possible  to  construct  any  thing  without  a 
basis  ?  and  where  would  they  place  theirs "?  The  bond  which 
unites  the  first  cause  to  second  causes  and  to  effects,  is  want 
ing  ]  and  the  hypotheses  which  are  heaped  one  above  another, 
go  to  prove  only  the  weakness  of  their  efforts. 

But  with  God-Man  the  impossibility  of  conceiving  an  idea 
of  the  creation  no  longer  exists.  God  is  Himself  the  basis, 
since  he  is  the  centre  of  the  universe,  and  this  centre  is  a  focus 
of  love  and  wisdom ;  it  is  the  infinite,  the  eternal  Being,  in  a 
Human  Form  j  it  is  VERY  MAN,  the  Archetype  whence  has 
emanated  all  that  constitutes  the  two  worlds.  Then  the  hu 
man  mind  seizes  upon  this  central  support;  it  represents  to 
itself  the  Divinity  surrounded  by  a  radiant  sun,  which  diffuses 
all  around  spiritual  heat  and  light,  or  love  and  wisdom ;  it 
sees  formed  around  this  sun  those  spiritual  atmospheres  which 
proceed  from  one  another,  and  which  convey  even  to  the  ulti 
mate  limits  this  heat  and  this  light  with  which  they  are  filled  ; 
it  sees  the  limits  of  these  atmospheres  cease  to  be  fluids,  be 
come  substances  at  rest,  and  thus  form  spiritual  earths  j  it  sees 
the  same  things  operating  conjointly  in  the  material  order 
around  our  sun  by  the  force  of  expansion  which  it  receives  from 
the  spiritual  sun.  It  can  account  for  all  these  facts  as  soon  as 
it  knows  that  the  heat  and  light  of  our  sun  extend,  by  means 
of  the  natural  atmospheres,  even  to  the  last  limits  of  our  plan 
etary  system  j  and  that  according  to  recent  discoveries  of 
science,  the  formation  of  the  planets  is  owing  to  a  fluid  of  an 
immense  extent ;  it  acquires  thus  the  conviction  that  the  uni 
verse  is  a  work  which  is  continued  from  the  Creator  even  to  the 
last  objects  of  the  creation;  and  that  consequently  God-Man, 
who  is  the  common  centre,  holds  it  suspended,  puts  it  in  motion, 
and  governs  it  as  a  single  coherent  whole.  Then  the  human 
mind  incurs  no  danger  of  confounding  God  with  the  universe, 
nor  the  spiritual  with  the  natural  j  for  it  can  know,  by  the 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  107 

science  of  degrees,  that  the  first  proceeding  and  those  which 
are  posterior  co-exist  according  to  their  order,  in  the  more 
remote  or  the  last,  in  the  sime  manner  as  ends  and  causes 
co-exist  in  effects  :  then  it  can  have  the  idea  concerning  God, 
that  he  is  all  in  all,  that  he  is  omnipotent,  omnipresent,  omnis 
cient,  infinite  and  eternal ;  then,  also,  it  can  have  an  idea  of 
the  order  according  to  which  God- Man  by  his  love  and  wisdom 
disposes  all  things,  provides  for  all,  and  governs  all. 

And  observe,  that  when  an  idea  is  thus  formed  of  God  it 
cannot  be  said  of  him  that  he  is  here  or  that  he  is  there  since 
he  is  in  the  inmost  of  everything.  It  is  then  in  the  inmost  of 
our  hearts  that  he  truly  is ;  it  is  there  that  we  should  seek  him 
and  it  is  there  that  we  shall  find  him. 

Do  not  forget,  however,  that  God,  his  first  proceeding  and 
the  posterior  proceedings,  are  not  only  in  the  last  but  are  also 
around  these  last,  the  same  as  the  end  and  the  causes  are  not 
only  in  the  effects  which  they  produce,  but  around  those 
effects  ;  it  is  this  truth  which  I  have  before  demonstrated  to 
you  by  the  example  of  the  sculptor  and  the  statue.  Thus, 
though  the  spiritual  world  is,  like  God,  in  the  interior  of  our 
selves,  it  nevertheless  presents  itself  to  our  eyes  around  us, 
when  our  soul  is  freed  from  the  shackles  which  bind  it  to  this 
world.  If  this  were  not  so,  the  soul  remaining  absorbed  in 
God  would  have  no  enjoyment  but  for  itself,  which  would 
be  only  a  selfish  pleasure,  and  for  that  reason  alone  opposed  to 
the  essence  itself  of  love  or  of  God  ;  whilst  by  means  of  this 
exterior  manifestation  it  can  love  out  of  itself  in  returning  up 
on  its  likenesses  the  love  which  it  receives  from  the  Divinity : 
thus  it  is  in  a  reciprocal  communication  of  love  in  which  the 
happiness  of  eternal  life  consists.  To  love  his  images  is  to 
love  God. 

Let  us  examine  now  what  the  universe  at  first  was  in  its 
general  constitution. 

You  have  seen  that  the  sun  of  our  world  was  created  at  the 


108  LETTERS    TO    A 

same  time  as  the  spiritual  sun ;  that  it  was  by  contiguity,  and 
not  by  continuity,  the  last  term  of  a  divine  ray  whose  spiritual 
sun  was  the  first  term?  aud  that  our  planetary  system  was  cre 
ated  by  the  intermediation  of  the  natural  sun.  Now  you  know 
that  astronomy  assigns  to  our  planetary  system  but  a  very  small 
place  in  the  material  universe.  You  should  therefore  from 
this  conclude  that  at  the  instant  when  the  extremity  of  a  di 
vine  ray  created  the  sun  of  our  world,  thousands  of  other  divine 
rays  from  the  spiritual  sun,  created  in  all  directions  thousands 
of  natural  suns  :  and  that  when  the  three  natural  atmospheres, 
corresponding  to  the  three  spiritual  atmospheres,  issued  from 
our  sun  and  constituted  its  planets,  similar  atmospheres  diffus 
ed  themselves  around  each  of  these  thousand  suns,  and  that 
this  natural  universe  was  strewed  with  millions  of  terrestrial 
globes. 

Every  natural  object,  corresponding  to  a  spiritual  object  of 
which  it  is  the  effect,  and  hy  which  it  exists,  as  every  effect 
exists  from  a  cause,  it  becomes  evident  that  the  immaterial 
universe  includes  millions  of  spiritual  earths  by  means  of 
which  the  earths  of  our  world  exist  and  subsist.  There  is, 
however,  an  important  remark  to  be  made  j  it  is  that  the  three 
spiritual  atmospheres  formed  immaterial  earths  distinct  ac 
cording  to  their  degree,  whilst  the  natural  atmospheres  con 
tributed  all  three  to  form,  the  one  the  inmost,  the  other  the 
interior,and  the  last  the  ultimate,  of  the  material  earths.  This 
difference,  of  which  I  have  before  spoken,  results  from  this, 
that  the  spiritual  earths  not  being  subjected  to  the  laws  of  space 
and  of  time,  those  of  the  second  and  of  the  third  degree,  though 
contained  within  those  of  the  first  degree,  can  appear  out  of 
these,  whilst  the  natural  objects  being  governed  by  the  laws 
of  space  and  time,  their  interior  and  their  inmost  cannot  be 
disengaged  from  their  envelope.  It  thence  results  that  every 
natural  earth  corresponds  to  thr«  e  spiritual  earths,  distinct  from 
each  other,  according  to  the  three  degrees. 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  109 

Thus  the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the  third  degree,  or  that 
which,  being  the  purest,  remained  nearest  the  source  of  life, 
formed  as  many  spiritual  earths  of  the  third  decree  as  there 
are  terrestrial  globes  in  the  material  universe.  It  was  the  same 
with  the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the  second  degree  j  and  the 
same  also  with  the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the  first  and  least 
pure  degree,  in  a  word,  that  which  was  the  most  remote  from 
the  spiritual  sun.  Remark  besides,  that  according  to  the  prin 
ciples  of  the  science  of  the  three  separate  degrees,  principles 
which  I  have  explained  in  a  preceding  letter,  every  earth  of 
the  third  degree  constitutes  the  inmost  of  the  corresponding 
spiritual  earth  of  the  second  degree  :  that  these  two  earths 
constitute  afterwards  the  inmost  and  the  interior  of  the  spirit 
ual  earth  of  the  first  degree  which  corresponds  to  them,  and 
that  these  three  spiritual  earths  are  at  the  same  time  contain 
ed  in  the  natural  earth,  which  is  in  correspondence  with  them, 
bui  only  in  the  same  manner  as  the  first  cause  and  second 
causes  are  contained  in  the  effect. 

Ail  that  I  have  already  said  to  you  concerning  the  end  and 
the  causes  which  are  contained  in  the  effect,  though  from 
their  nature  they  are  immaterial,  would  be  quite  sufficient  to 
convince  you  that  God  and  the  spiritual  world  are  in  the  nat 
ural  world,  without  for  that  reason  occupying  there  a  single 
point  of  space.  But  when  the  abstraction  of  space  is  in  ques 
tion,  this  cannot  be  too  thoroughly  insisted  upon  ;  let  us  not 
then  neglect  any  means  of  conviction. 

Instead  of  directing  our  examination  to  the  whole  of  the 
universe,  let  us  consider  at  first  only  one  of  its  parts,  our  earth 
for  example.  That  which  we  will  say  of  our  planet  in  partic 
ular  will  apply  afterwards  to  all  other  parts  of  the  universe, 
and  consequently  to  the  universe  in  general. 

The  earth,  being  an  effect  which  has  for  causes  the  spiritual 
earths  to  which  it  corresponds,  these  spiritual  earths  are  with 
in  it.  but  they  are  in  it  as  the  soul  or  spirit  of  man  is  in  his 


110  LETTERS    TO    A 

material  body.    Now,  no  anatomist  has  ever  discovered  the 
spirit  or  soul  in  the  human  body;  if  then  it  were  possible  to 
penetrate  iuto  the  interior  of  the  earth,  neither  would  spiritual 
earths  be  discovered  there,  though  they  are  really  there,  the 
same  as  the  spirit  or  soul  of  man  is  really  in  his  material  body. 
A.nd  why  would  they  not  be  discovered  ?     It  is  because  every 
part  of  a  spiritual  object,  however  small  it  maybe,  is  also  in 
the  corresponding  part  of  the  natural  object  as  the  cause  is  in 
the  effect.     Thus  concerning  our  earth,  and  the  three  spiritual 
corresponding  earths,  there  is  not  an  atom  of  the  spiritual  earth 
of  the  third  degree  but  what   is  in  the  corresponding  atom  of 
the  spiritual  earth  of   the  second  degree,  not  an  atom  of   this 
which  is  not  in  the  corresponding  atom  of  the  spiritual  earth 
of  the  first  degree,  and  not  an  atom  of  this  last  which  is  not  in 
the  corresponding  atom  of  our  earth ;  for  the  spiritual  earth  of 
the  second   degree  is  an  effect  in  relation  to  that  of  the  third 
degree ;  the  spiritual  earth  of  the  first  degree,  an  effect  in  rela 
tion  to  the  two  preceding  j  and  our  earth  an  effect  in  relation 
to   these  three  spiritual  earths.     Thence  it  evidently  results 
that  our  earth  can  contain  the  three  spiritual  earths  to  which  it 
corresponds,  without  these  earths  occupying  the  least  space 
in  its  interior.     If  it  is  thus  with  our  earth,  it  is  the  same  with 
all  the  planets  of  our  system,  and  each  of  these  planets  con 
tains  in  like  manner  the  three  spiritual  earths  to  which  it  cor 
responds  ;  it  is  also  the  same  with  the  millions  of  globes  which 
gravitate  in  space,  and  consequently  the  whole  spiritual  world 
is  contained  in  the  natural  world  without  occupying  there  the 
least  space. 

I  will  make  at  this  time  on  this  subject  but  a  single  remark  : 
the  spiritual  exercising  thus  within  the  natural  an  action,  and 
this  action  being  necessarily  so  much  the  more  active  as  the- 
spiritual  is  more  internal,  it  results  thence  that  the  nearer  the 
bodies  which  constitute  the  whole  of  the  globe  are  to  its  cen 
tre,  the  more  should  they  be  penetrated  with  heat.  Now  the 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  Ill 

experience  of  modern  science,  goes  to  confirm  this  consequence 
of  our  principles,  by  proving  that  the  more  the  thermometer  is 
sunk  into  the  interior  of  the  earth,  the  more  the  mercury  rises. 
The  learned  inquire  into  the  cause  of  this  fact,  and  have  writ 
ten  long  dissertations  to  discover  it  j  but  alas  !  it  is  to  them 
with  this  cause  as  with  almost  all  other  causes ;  it  is  in  vain 
for  them  to  inquire,  because  they  persist  in  remaining  in  their 
false  course.  How  many  fruitless  labors  would  they  avoid, 
and  what  progress  would  they  make  in  the  sciences  which 
they  cultivate,  if  they  knew,  or  were  willing  to  take  cogni 
zance  of,  the  true  spiritual  principles. 

As  to  the  exterior  manifestation  of  the  spiritual  world,  as  it 
constitutes  the  new  theatre  upon  which  we  must  eternally 
live,  it  is  this  which  it  concerns  us  above  all  to  examine. 

The  spiritual  universe  being  divided  into  three  parts  wholly 
distinct,  and  connected  only  between  them  by  relations  which 
exist  between  the  end,  the  cause,  and  the  effect,  we  denom 
inate  the  spiritual  earths  of  the  third  degree  with  their  atmos 
pheres,  the  inmost  or  third  heaven  ;  those  of  the  second  degree, 
the  second  heaven ;  and  those  of  the  last  degree,  the  first 
heaven ;  this  last  is  called  the  first  heaven,  because  according 
to  the  appearance  it  is  nearer  the  natural  world.  You  see  also, 
from  what  precedes,  that  each  of  these  heavens  includes  as 
many  spiritual  earths  as  the  natural  universe  includes  terres 
trial  globes. 

This  division  into  three  heavens  consists  in  this,  that  the 
second  heaven  is  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  first  heaven  as  invis 
ible  as  this  first  heaven  is  invisible  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
natural  world ;  and  in  this,  that  it  is  the  same  with  the  third 
heaven  in  respect  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  second  :  but  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  heavens  are  freed  from  the  shackles  of  space 
and  time,  they  can  visit  the  different  earths  of  their  heaven,  if 
they  desire  it,  whilst  we  men  who  are  yet  subject  to  the  laws  of 
space  and  time  cannot  leave  the  planet  on  which  we  now  live. 


112  LETTERS   TO    A 

As  to  the  nature  of  the  spiritual  earths,  you  have  seen  in  the 
general  view  given  of  the  creation,  that  all  the  bodies  of  a  ma 
terial  nature  are  in  a  three-fold  order,  and  that  their  inmost 
corresponds  to  the  third  degree  or  to  ends,  their  interior  to  the 
second  degree  or  to  causes,  and  their  ultimate  or  first  degree 
to  effects.  Now  the  two  worlds,  by  virtue  of  their  creation, 
corresponding  the  one  to  the  other,  not  only  in  the  whole,  but 
also  in  each  of  their  parts,  however  small  it  may  be,  it  results 
thence  that  the  earths  of  the  natural  world  can  by  analogy 
give  us  a  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the  earths  of  the  spiritual 
world.  However,  to  have  a  just  idea  of  the  earths  of  these 
three  heavens,  it  is  neccessary  to  form  an  idea  as  to  what 
must  have  been  the  nature  of  the  natural  earths  at  the  epoch  of 
which  we  are  treating.  All  the  objects  which  then  composed 
the  universe  were  at  the  same  time  good  and  beautiful,  since 
they  all  emanated  from  God,  and  had  not  yet  undergone  any 
alteration.  Thus  the  inmost  of  objects  of  which  material  na 
ture  was  then  composed  corresponded  to  the  things  which  con 
stituted  the  earths  of  the  inmost  heaven ;  the  interior  of  these 
same  objects  to  the  things  which  constitutes  the  earths  of  the 
second  heaven  ;  and  the  objects  themselves  to  the  things  of  the 
earths  of  the  (irst  heaven.  The  difference  which  exists  be 
tween  the  inmost  of  a  thing,  its  interior,  and  its  ultimate,  should 
easily  enable  you  to  comprehend  that  which  exists  between 
the  earths  of  the  three  heavens. 

Such,  in  the  beginning,  was  the  general  constitution  of  the 
immaterial  Universe:  but  there  were  afterwards  produced 
changes  in  the  spiritual  organism,  of  which  I  am  now  about  to 
speak. 

1  have  shown  you,  in  my  second  letter,  what  was  the  end 
which  God  had  in  creating  the  universe,  and  you  have  acknowl 
edged  that  this  end  would  have  failed  if  man  had  not  been 
free  to  love  God  or  not  to  love  him,  that  is  to  say,  if  he  had 
not  been  free  to  conform  to  the  laws  of  the  divine  order  or  to 


MAN    OF   THE   WORLD.  113 

infringe  them.  It  thence  results  that  the  free  will  of  man  is 
itself  one  of  the  principal  laws  of  this  order  :  so  that  God  who 
never  contravenes  the  laws  which  his  wisdom  has  established, 
is  careful  not  to  destroy  this  libert)?"  of  man,  and  has  recourse 
to  other  means  to  preserve  the  order  of  the  universe,  which 
man,  from  his  present  nature,  is  always  disposed  to  destroy. 

Man  being  in  the  likeness  and  image  of  God,  or,  in  other 
words,  man  having  been  created  the  receptacle  of  the  love 
and  wisdom  of  God,  received,  by  this  very  organization,  a 
power  of  changing,  which  was  perverted  by  the  abuse  which 
he  made  of  his  free  will.  We  have  seen  in  fact  that  man  re 
ceives  and  appropriates  the  divine  influence  because  he  is  en 
dowed  with  liberty  and  rationality,  whilst  other  beings,  having 
neither  free  will  nor  the  faculty  of  reasoning,  receive  this  in 
fluence  but  do  not  appropriate  it.  Give  me  for  a  moment  all 
your  attention.  The  divine  influence  is  none  other  than  the 
life  which  emanates  from  God,  and  life  is  composed  of  affec 
tions  and  thoughts,  which  are  themselves  spiritual  substances 
and  forms  j  this  we  have  already  acknowledged.  This  granted, 
man  continually  receiving  life  appropriates  to  himself  thus  at, 
every  instant  spiritual  substances  and  forms  which  emanate 
from  God,  and  these  substances  and  these  forms  are  real 
objects  of  spiritual  organism.  But  the  affections  and  the 
thoughts  which  man  receives  from  God,  being  appropriated 
by  him  become,  by  that  very  reception,  affections  and  thoughts 
of  man  ;  now  man  being  thus  himself  a  centre  of  continual 
emanations,  they  enter,  in  emanating  from  him,  into  the  spir 
itual  organism,  but  changed  from  their  primitive  substance 
and  form,  if  this  appropriation  is  not  made  conformably  to  the 
laws  of  order,  that  is  to  say,  if  man  has  separated  himself  from 
the  divine  laws. 

You  may  jndge  now  of  the  modification  which  the  spiritual 
organism  must  necessarily  have  undergone  when  man  appear 
ed  in  the  universe ;  I  say  when  man  appeared  in  the  universe, 


114  LETTERS   TO    A 

for  reason  teaches  and  the  new  sciences  prove  that  the  uni 
verse  must  have  existed  long  before  it  was  inhabited  by  man. 

Thus,  so  long  as  man  returned  to  his  Creator  the  love  and 
the  wisdom  which  he  received  from  him,  that  is  to  say,  so  long 
as  he  lived  comformably  to  the  laws  of  divine  or.ler,  the  affec 
tions  and  the  thoughts  which  he  appropriated  to  himself  pre 
served  their  primitive  purity ;  and  his  emanations  being  for 
that  reason  in  homogeneity  with  the  emanations  which  pro 
ceed  from  God  by  the  spiritual  sun,  the  universal  organism  re 
ceived  from  it  no  alteration.  But  when  afterwards  men  began 
to  transgress  the  divine  laws,  the  affections  and  thoughts 
which  they  appropriated  to  themselves,  lost  their  primitive 
purity,  and  were  so  much  the  more  estranged  as  the  infrac 
tions  became  greater.  Man's  infractions  of  the  divine  laws 
were  at  first  trivial ;  for  every  thing  in  the  universe,  as  well 
in  its  spiritual  as  in  its  natural  part,  proceeds  by  gradations : 
and  besides,  it  is  even  now  acknowledged  that  man  does  not 
suddenly  pass  from  an  extreme  good  to  an  extreme  evil.  The 
first  transgression  that  men  committed  was  only  a  desire — the 
desire  of  being  led  of  themselves,  instead  of  .suffering  them 
selves  to  be  freely  directed  by  God  as  at  first  j  but  though  this 
desire  did  not  at  once  precipitate  them  into  evil,  it  is  most 
true  that  those  who  conceived  it  lost  some  of  the  purity  of 
their  fathers. 

This  was  the  commencement  of  the  perversion  of  the  divine 
order  by  man,  or  in  other  words,  the  beginning  of  man's  fall.  I 
can  readily  conceive  the  repugnance  of  men  of  the  world, 
when  the  fall  is  mentioned;  it  is  not  that  they  generally  deny 
the  primeval  existence  of  a  paradisiacal  age  :  they  are  ready 
to  admit  that  the  human  race  is  degraded ;  but  when  they 
recollect  what,  in  their  childhood,  has  been  taught  them  con 
cerning  the  fall,  their  reason  revolts.  And  could  it  be  other 
wise,  when  they  know  that  the  old  theology  still  persists,  even 
in  this  age,  in  teaching  that  the  fault  of  a  single  man  was  the 


•'BE 
MAN    OF   THE   WORLD. f  115 

cause  of  the  condemnation  of  the  human  race  ?  Is  not  this  to 
attribute  injustice  to  God  and  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that 
the  reason  of  man  should  refuse  to  receive  sucnTrRTTrJction 
any  longer  ? 

This  allusion  to  the  fall  is  but  incidental :  it  is  my  intention 
to  show  you  .only,  in  a  few  words,  that  it  was  progressive,  and 
not  instantaneous,  and  that  it  was  the  declension  of  man  in 
the  aggregate,  and  not  in  the  single  individual.  We  will  ex 
amine  this  dogma  at  another  time. 

There  is  one  law  of  the  divine  order  whose  existence  you 
will  readily  acknowledge  :  this  is  the  law  of  transmission  by 
germs.  If  the  agriculturists  make  choice  of  the  best  grain  for 
seed  ;  if  breeders  of  cattle  choose  the  healthiest  and  best  formed 
for  the  propagation  of  the  species  ;  it  is  because  the  experience 
of  all  time  has  proved  that  bodily  defects  are  transmitted  in 
increasing  progression  from  germ  to  germ.  This  law  exists 
for  the  moral  and  spiritual  as  well  as  for  the  corporeal  part  of 
man  •  it  has  been  recognised  by  all  good  observers,  but  what 
prevents  it  from  being  evident  in  that  which  concerns  the 
moral  and  spiritual  part  is,  because  man,  by  the  education 
which  he  receives,  can  conceal  his  desires  and  his  thoughts ; 
it  is,  besides,  because  being  endowed  with  free  will  and  ra 
tionality,  he  can  be  reformed  j  but  it  is  always  a  truth  that  he 
is  born  with  a  propensity  to  apparent  and  hidden  defects  de 
rived  from  his  parents.  I  will  dwell  more  on  this  subject 
when  we  come  to  treat  on  original  evil  ;  for  this  evil  consists 
in  the  transmission  of  evils  and  falses  which  accumulate  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  not  in  the  simple  transmission 
of  the  crime  of  one  man. 

The  men  who  had  not  originally  the  desire  for  self-guidance. 
but  who  had  only  conceived  this  desire  during  their  life  in  the 
natural  world,  transmitted  it  to  their  offspring  according  to 
this  general  law  of  order  ;  it  was  weak  with  the  first,  and  be 
came  stronger  with  the  next  generation.  Yet  these  were  still 


116  LETTERS    TO    A 

good,  though  their  goodness  had  more  degenerated  than  that 
of  their  fathers;  but  the  propensity  to  depart  from  the  laws  of 
order  increasing  from  generation  to  generation,  men  at  length 
fell  into  evil.  There  has  been,  since  then,  between  the  divine 
emanations  which  constituted  the  primitive  spiritual  organism, 
and  the  emanations  of  men  fallen  into  evil,  a  real  antagonism  ; 
and  as  spiritual  objects  are  not  subjected  to  the  laws  of  gravity, 
but  observe  those  of  spiritual  attraction,  that  is  to  say,  of  sym 
pathy,  all  those  spiritual  objects  which  resulted  from  the  vitia 
ted  emanations  of  these  men,  reuniting  according  to  the  laws 
of  spiritual  attraction,  constituted  an  organism  distinct  from 
the  first  and  altogether  inverted.  We  have  called  the  first, 
heaven,  we  will  call  the  last,  hell.  This  word,  without  doubt, 
sounds  harsh  in  your  ears  :  so  many  absurdities  have  been 
spread  concerning'  hell,  that  a  man  of  the  world  now-a-days 
cannot  even  hear  the  name  pronounced  without  smiling ;  but 
be  good  enough  to  wait  a  little,  and  you  will  soon  acknow 
ledge  that  we  can  speak  of  hell,  and  believe  that  there  is  a 
hell,  such  as  it  actually  is,  and  not  such  as  it  has  hitherto  been 
described,  without  for  that  reason  being  obliged  to  make  the 
least  renunciation  of  the  use  of  the  intellectual  faculty. 

Hell,  like  heaven,  has  its  atmospheres,  and  its  earths  ar 
ranged  according  to  separate  or  discrete  degrees.  In  fact,  by 
appropriating  to  themselves,  and  by  perverting  the  divine  em 
anations,  these  men  and  those  who  from  generation  to  genera 
tion  followed  their  example,  did  not,  on  that  account,  invert 
the  order  of  their  degrees.  The  exterior  good,  or  the  good 
of  the  first  degree,  became  evil,  but  this  evil  was  exterior,  or 
the  evil  of  the  first  degree ;  interior  good  became  interior  evil, 
and  inmost  good,  inmost  evil;  it  was  the  same  with  truth, 
which,  according  to  its  degree,  was  changed  into  the  false  of 
the  same  degree.  If  you  wish  to  form,  to  yourself  an  idea  of 
the  infernal  earths,  represent  them  to  yourself  as  composed  of 
all  that  is  bad  and  deformed  in  that  which  constitutes  our 


MAN   OF    THE  WORLD.  117 

earth.  The  inmost  of  bad  and  deformed  objects  corresponds 
to  the  things  which  constitute  the  earths  of  the  ihird.  or  deep 
est  hell  j  the  interior  of  these  objects,  to  the  things  which  con 
stitute  the  earths  of  the  second  hell,  and  these  objects  them 
selves,  to  the  things  which  constitute  the  earths  of  the  first 
hell.  You  will  also  judge  of  the  difference  between  the  infer 
nal  earths,  by  the  difference  which  th -re  is  between  the  in 
most  of  a  bad  and  deformed  thing,  its  interior,  and  its  exterior 
or  aggregate  form. 

Thus  hell  is  subsequent  to  heaver; ;  it  was  not  created  by 
God,  since  God  was  love  itself,  and  wisdom  itself:  love  could 
not  beget  hatred,  nor  wisdom  folly;  but  hell  is  from  man; 
man  alone  created  it,  and  he  created  it  by  means  of  that  power 
to  modify  which  he  had  received,  and  which  in  his  hands  has 
become  altogether  destructive  of  the  works  of  God,  by  the 
abuse  which  he  has  made  of  his  free  will.  If  any  difficulty  is 
experienced  in  comprehending  that  man  has  such  a  power,  it 
arises  entirely  from  the  erroneous  ideas  which  the  false  philos 
ophy  and  theology  have  incessantly  spread  about  God  and 
creation.  Why  does  the  belief  that  there  is  no  hell  so  exten 
sively  prevail  ?  Because  it  is  repugnant  to  reason,  not  only  to 
require  faith  in  the  descriptions  generally  given  of  it,  but  also 
to  believe  that  God  created  a  place  of  torment.  But  if  God 
has  not  created  hell,  by  whom  was  it  created  ?  At  this  ques 
tion,  moralists  are  silent ;  some  theologians  believe  they  have 
overcome  the  difficulty,  by  saying  that  rebellious  angels  have 
been  cast  down  into  the  abyss.  But  was  not  this  abyss  the 
eternal  prison  in  which  they  were  to  be  confined  ?  Who  then 
created  it  ?  And  yet  theologians  and  moralists  admit  the  in 
finite  goodness  of  God,  and  recognize  the  necessity  and  reality 
of  hell.  Why  do  they  find  it  impossible  for  them  to  reconcile 
the  infinite  love  of  the  one  with  the  existence  of  the  other  I 
Why  !  because  they  have  only  vague  notions  concerning  God 
6 


118  LETTERS   TO   A 

and  the  world  of  spirits;  because,  consequently  they  have 
been  unable  to  form  a  just  idea  of  the  creation. 

The  idea  generally  prevailing  upon  this  important  subject, 
is,  that  the  universe  being  once  formed,  creation  ceased. 
Some  philosophers,  seeing  that  every  thing  is  renewed  by 
means  of  germs,  believe  that  nature  perpetuates  herself.  On 
the  other  hand,  theologians,  relying  upon  the  letter  of  the 
scriptures,  without  seeking  to  penetrate  into  their  spirit,  say 
that  all  things  were  made  by  the  Word  ;  and  upon  this  first 
point  they  are  perfectly  correct,  as  you  will  afterwards  ac 
knowledge,  when  we  come  to  discuss  the  dogmatic  questions 
together;  but  they  fall  into  a  gross  error  in  adding  that  every 
thing  was  created  by  this  alone,  that  God  spake  a  word,  or 
gave  an  order,  as  an  absolute  sovereign  would  do  in  a  king 
dom. 

When  it  is  believed  that  the  Creator  is  a  Being  without  sub 
stance  and  form,  and  that  the  universe  was  created  out  of  noth 
ing,  how  can  errors  be  avoided  ?  But  if  is  admitted  that  God 
is  substance  itself  and  form  itself  (Form-type),  and  that  the 
universe  emanated  from  him,  then  difficulties  disappear  •  for 
then  it  is  easy  to  admit  as  a  principle  that  all  production  is  a 
continued  creation. 

It  is  true  that  the  universe  is  from  a  single  outbirth,  for  it 
was  not  created  as  I  have  before  told  you,  either  from  space  to 
space,  or  from  one  time  to  another  ;  but  it  by  no  means  thence 
results,  that  creation  was  terminated  by  its  formation.  The 
universe  being  an  emanation  from  God,  cannot  but  subsist  by  a 
continual  emanation  from  the  Divinity.  If  it  were  possible 
that  this  emanation  could  be  suspended  one  instant,  the  two 
worlds,  the  natural  and  the  spiritual,  would  be  instantly  de 
prived  of  life,  and  the  universe,  both  material  and  immaterial, 
would  subsist  no  longer.  Creation  then  continues  every  in 
stant,  without  the  least  interruption.  If  it  appears  stable  to  us, 
it  is  because  God  is  not  inconstant  as  man  is,  and  does  not 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  119 

overturn  to  day  what  he  did  yesterday.  In  God's  incessant 
creation  he  always  conforms  to  the  laws  of  his  own  divine 
order. 

If  to  the  considerations  which  I  have  previously  presented 
to  you,  you  now  add  the  principle  that  all  production  is  a  con 
tinued  creation,  you  will  experience  no  further  difficulty 
in  comprehending  that  man  had  the  power  to  create  hell. 
Take  notice,  however,  that  I  do  not  take  the  word  "  create" 
in  the  acceptation  of  producing  out  of  nothing;  but  in  saying 
that  man  had  power  to  create  hell,  I  mean  that  he  had  power 
to  render  bad  and  deformed  the  good  spiritual  substances 
and  the  beautiful  spiritual  forms  which  emanated  from  God, 
and  which  he  appropriated  to  himself;  I  will  even  add  that 
in  introducing  thus  the  evil  and  deformed  into  the  spiritual 
organism,  he  introduced  them  also  into  the  natural  organism, 
according  to  the  laws  of  correspondence  between  the  two 
worlds. 

The  creation  oi  hell  was  not  the  only  change  which  man  in 
troduced  into  the  spiritual  organism  5  there  is  still  another 
which  I  must  also  make  you  acquainted  with. 

When  hell  was  constituted  by  man's  perversity,  or  in  other 
words,  when  men  after  having  progressively  separated  them 
selves  from  the  supreme  good,  fell  at  length  into  evil,  they  did 
not  all  become  perverted  to  such  a  degree  as  no  longer  to  have 
in  them  either  good  or  evil.  There  were  even  many  who  still 
fluctuated  between  the  good  and  evil,  between  the  true  and  the 
false.  The  emanations  of  these  being  a  mixture  of  good  and 
bad  substances,  and  beautiful  and  perverted  forms,  could  nei 
ther  enter  into  the  celestial  organism,  where  all  is  good  and 
beautiful,  nor  into  the  infernal  organism,  where  all  is  evil  and 
deformed ;  they  composed  consequently  a  spiritual  mixed  or 
ganism.  In  its  external  manifestation,  the  earth  of  this  new 
organism  holds  the  middle  between  the  earth  of  the  first 
heaven  and  that  of  the  first  hell ;  it  is  composed  of  objects  like 


120  LETTERS    TO    A 

those  of  our  earth,  except  the  difference  between  what  is  spir- 
ritual  and  what  is  natural ;  and  presents  thus  a  mixture  of  the 
good  and  the  bad,  of  the  beautiful  and  deformed.  We  give  to 
this  part  of  the  spiritual  world  the  name  of  World  of  Spirits. 

Such  are  the  changes  which  the  fall  of  man  has  introduced 
into  the  spiritual  organism  of  the  globe  which  we  inhabit,  t 
have  presented  them  to  you  briefly,  that  you  may  know  what 
is  now  the  general  division  of  this  spiritual  world,  whose  ex 
ploration  we  have  undertaken  to  make  together. 

I  will  conclude  this  letter  by  impressing  upon  you  this  re 
mark,  that  notwithstanding  these  changes  in  the  spiritual  or 
ganism,  all  its  parts  are  at  the  same  time  contained  in  the  nat 
ural  organism ;  they  are  there  as  good  and  evil,  the  true  and 
the  false,  are  in  man,  for  man,  we  shall  see  in  the  course  of 
our  discussion,  is  himself  a  microcosm,  or  little  world.  In 
fine,  if  our  natural  organism  remained  entire  whilst  the  spiritual 
organism  has  been  divided,  the  reason  of  this  is  easily  to  be 
perceived.  The  objects  which  compose  the  latter  have,  as  I 
have  already  shown  you,  been  capable  of  being  separated 
from  each  other,  and  this  separation  was  effected  at  the  instant 
that  there  was  antagonism  between  them;  but  it  could  not  be 
the  same  with  corresponding  bodies  of  the  natural  organism, 
because  the  laws  of  space  and  time  opposed,  in  an  absolute 
manner,  their  separation. 


LETTER  X. 

I  have,  in  my  last  letter,  made  you  acquainted  with  the 
principal  divisions  of  the  spiritual  world  :  I  shall  speak  in  this 
respecting  the  beings  who  inhabit  them  j  but  permit  me  first 
to  revert  to  a  question  which  has  already  been  incidentally 
treated  upon. 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  121 

I  have  shown,  in  my  fifth  letter,  that  all  the  intelligent  be 
ings  who  exist  in  the  immaterial  world,  it  matters  not  what 
name  has  been  given  to  them  besides,  are  men,  arid  have  all 
first  lived  upon  natural  earths  before  inhabiting  the  other 
world.  This  proposition  being  the  fundamental  basis  of  the 
subject  which  is  about  to  engage  our  attention,  I  must  have  re 
course  to  all  the  means  which  can  confirm  it,  and  add  to 
proofs  already  given  those  which  the  present  state  of  our  dis 
cussion  permits  me  to  employ. 

As  hell  is  posterior  to  the  primitive  creation,  I  will  here 
treat  concerning  those  spiritual  beings  only  to  whom  the  name 
of  Angels  has  been  given  j  besides,  what  I  am  about  to  say  of 
angels  will  equally  apply  to  all  other  intelligent  beings. 

If  angels  had  not  originally  lived  upon  natural  earths,  that  is 
to  say,  if  they  had  not  been  clothed,  as  we  are,  with  a  material 
body  which  they  restored  to  the  earth  from  which  it  was  taken, 
they  must  necessarily  have  been  angels  immediately  created 
such.  It  would  then  be  necessary  to  suppose  that  God  would 
have  been  able  to  create  the  spiritual  without  adjoining  to  it  a 
natural  suitable  to  contain  it,  and  serve  it  for  a  basis  and  sup 
port.  Now  such  a  supposition  cannot  be  admitted  by  those 
who  are  acquainted  with  the  order  which  has  presided  at  the 
creation.  You  have  seen,  truly,  that  the  universe  is  a  cohe 
rent  whole,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  the  spiritual  sun,  and 
that  from  this  sun  even  to  the  most  compact  objects  of  nature, 
everything  must  be  connected  by  contiguity,  according  to  the 
order  of  separate  or  discrete  degrees,  so  that  the  last  degree 
should  be  the  continent,  the  basis,  and  the  support  of  the  two 
prior  degrees. 

If  to  this  ycu  add  that  the  emanation  which  has  created  the 
universe,  being  in  potency  a  compound  of  substances  and  forms 
of  the  three  degrees,  it  was  impossible  that  these  substances 
and  forms,  as  they  develope  themselvevS  in  acts,  should  not  be 
connected  according  to  the  order  of  these  degrees  ;  you  will 


122  LETTERS    TO    A 

then  easily  understand  that  God  could  not  create  any  spiritual 
being  without  there  being  a  natural,  which  might  contain  the 
spiritual,  and  that  consequently  to  have  angels,  it  was  abso 
lutely  necessary  that  he  should  create  intelligent  beings  clothed 
with  a  material  body,  that  is  to  say,  men. 

It  is  true  that  our  modern  psychologists  do  not  conceive  of 
the  spiritual  in  this  manner ;  but  to  what  results  have  they 
thus  come  with  their  vapory  ideas'?  They  have  so  refined 
away  the  spiritual,  that  it  has  become  for  them  as  if  it  did  not 
exist.  But  you,  who  now  know  that  there  is  nothing  spiritual 
without  substance  and  form,  because  that  which  has  neither 
substance  nor  form  cannot  either  exist  or  consequently  sub 
sist,  and  is  absolutely  ngthing  but  a  creation  of  the  imagina 
tion,  *or  a  being  altogether  chimerical— you  will  understand 
without  difficulty  that  spiritual  substances  and  forms,  could 
not  have  any  consistence  if  they  had  not  for  their  continent, 
basis,  and  support,  natural  substances  and  forms,  which  are 
their  last  degree  or  their  effect. 

Remark,  besides,  that  if  God  had  been  able  to  create  in  his 
likeness  and  image  beings  capable  of  loving  him  freely,  with 
out  these  beings  having  been  obliged  to  live  first  in  the  last 
degree  of  creation,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  natural  world,  it  would 
have  been,  for  this  end,  useless  to  create  this  natural  world. 
What  was,  in  fact,  the  end  which  God  had  in  the  creation  of 
the  universe  ?  We  have  already  seen  it,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  discover  any  other,— it  was  to  create  beings  who  could  re 
ceive  his  love  and  freely  return  it  to  him.  Now,  if  it  were 
possible  to  attain  this  end  by  an  immediate  creation  of  angels, 
was  it  not  useless  to  create  man  and  the  natural  world  ? 

One  of  the  consequences  of  the  principles  which  we  are 
discussing  is,  that  the  spiritual  world  must  have  remained  a 
long  time  without  being  inhabited.  This  might,  at  the  first 
thought,  excite  surprise  ;  but  if  our  earth,  which  no  one  at  this 
day  will  deny  has  revolved  for  ages  around  the  sun.  without 


MAN   OF    THE  WORLD.  123 

having  had  upon  its  surface  any  of  the  beings  for  which  alone 
it  was  nevertheless  created,  why  should  we  be  astonished 
that  the  earths  of  the  spiritual  world,  to  which  it  corresponds, 
should  have  been  for  a  little  longer  time  without  receiving  those 
who  were  to  inhabit  them?  We  who  live  in  the  rnidst  of  time 
may  think  it  extraordinary  that  worlls  should  have  remained 
uninhabited  for  ages  ;  but  should  not  our  surprise  cease  as 
soon  as  we  reflect  that  ages  are  but  an  instant  to  Him  who 
is  eternal "?  We  should  not  be  any  more  astonished  at  this, 
that  all  the  earths  of  the  spiritual  world  have  been  inhabited 
posteriorly  to  the  natural  earths  which  correspond  to  them. 
But  are  we  to  conclude  from  this  tl^at  there  were  not  angels 
in  the  spiritual  world  before  man  appeared  upon  our  earth  ? 
Certainly  not.  The  natural  universe,  as  you  know,  contains 
myriads  of  terrestrial  globes,  all  of  which,  created  to  receive 
men,  were  certainly  not  all  inhabited  at  the  same  moment; 
some  have  perhaps  been  inhabited  for  millions  of  years,  and  it 
may  be  possible  that  others  are  not  inhabited  yet.  Nothing 
then  can  lead  us  to  believe  that  our  globe  was  inhabited  before 
there  were  angels  in  the  spiritual  world.  What  we  have  a  right 
to  affirm  on  the  subject  of  our  planet  only  is,  that  it  had  in 
habitants  before  the  part  of  the  spiritual  world  to  which  it  cor 
responds  had  any ;  but  it  must  always  have  been  necessary  that 
one  of  the  earths  of  the  natural  world  should  have  been  first 
inhabited,  in  order  that  there  might  be  angels  in  the  heavens. 
These  new  considerations,  added  to  those  which  I  have  pre 
sented  to  you  in  my  fifth  letter,  prove  very  evidently,  that  the 
angels  at  first  lived  as  men  in  the  natural  world. 

Nevertheless,  as  what  I  have  said  in  discussing  this  subject, 
has  been  based  upon  the  principle  that  the  spiritual  can  have 
existence  only  so  far  as  it  is  contained  in  a  natural,  which 
serves  it  for  a  basis  and  support,  it  remains  for  me  yet  to  solve 
a  question  which  ^ou  would  doubtless  soon  address  to  me  if  I 
did  not  suggest  it  at  this  time ;  the  angels  having  restored  to 


124  LETTERS    TO    A 

• 

the  earth  the  material  body,  which  in  our  world,  served  them 
for  a  continent,  basis,  and  support,  what  is  the  natural  which 
serves  for  a  basis  now  ? 

This  question,  my  dear  sir,  from  its  nature  enters  into  the 
general  discussion  ,  and  you  will  there  find  it  explained  ;  how 
ever  not  to  detain  you  longer  for  an  answer,  I  will  say  at  once, 
that  it  is  the  human  race  itself  which  supplies  this  function. 
This  need  not  be  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  you,  as  there  can 
be  nothing  in  the  natural  world  more  suitable  than  man  to 
serve  for  a  continent,  basis,  and  support  to  beings  who  have 
lived  men,  and  who  still  live  in  a  human  form.  As  to  the 
manner  in  which  angels  and  spirits  are  contained  in  man.  it  is 
only  in  the  course  of  the  general  discussion  that  we  shall  be 
able  to  make  this  clear;  to  this  discussion  then  I  now  come. 

Since  spirits  and  angels  have  all  once  lived  as  men  on  the 
natural  earths  before  inhabiting  the  other  world,  the  most  cer 
tain  means  of  forming  an  idea  of  spiritual  beings  is  first  to  ac 
quire  a  knowledge  of  man.  Being  in  the  likeness  and  image 
of  God,  man  must  have  been,  and  was  really,  the  summary  of 
the  universal  creation  ;  and  it  was  for  this  very  reason  that  the 
ancients  used  to  call  him  a  microcosm,  that  is  to  say,  a  little 
universe.  Thus  the  enigma  of  man,  the  enigma  which  for  so 
many  ages  philosophy  has  sought  in  vain  to  discover,  this  can 
not  be  explained  but  by  meditating  upon  the  creation  of  the 
universe.  God  being  VERY  MAN,  all  the  emanations  which 
proceeded  from  him  must  have  been  a  continual  effort  to  im 
press  upon  creation  his  image  or  the  human  form.  Do  you 
desire  a  proof  of  this?  Survey  the  scale  of  beings:  those 
which  first  appeared,  presented,  it  is  true,  but  a  rough  sketch : 
bat  the  more  creation  developed  itself,  the  more  you  see  the 
ivewly  created  beings  approach  trris  form;  at  length  when 
everything  was  progressively  arranged,  so  that  it  might  attain 
to  its  perfection,  you  see  man  appear  upon  tjie  theatre  which 
God  had  embellished  for  him. 


3:.*N   OF   THE   WORLD.  125 

Observe,  on  the  subject  of  these  successive  creations,  that 
the  spiritual  suri  and  natural  sun,  being  always  in  activity,  the 
first  by  the  presence  of  God  who  is  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  the 
second  by  the  force  of  expansion  which  the  first  communicates 
to  it,  the  spiritual  and  natural  atmospheres  are  continually  in 
effort  to  preserve  and  to  produce  ;  for  it  is  by  them  that  the 
substances  at  rest  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  the  fixed  substances 
or  matter  of  our  world,  subsist  and  are  modified.  Now,  fol 
low  in  all  its  details  the  formation  of  the  universe,  arid  you 
will  be  able  o  have  an  idea  of  the  formation  of  man. 

The  creation  of  the  three  kinds  of  spiritual  earths  which 
are  between  themselves  separate  and  distinct,  according  to 
the  three  degrees,  sufficiently  indicate  to  us,  that  there  must 
be  in  the  man-spirit  three  receptacles  in  the  same  manner  sepa 
rate  and  distinct,  that  the  love  and  wisdom  of  God  may  reach 
him  in  the  three  degrees,  namely,  in  the  degree  of  ends,  in 
the  degree  of  causes,  and  in  that  of  spiritual  effects,  and  that 
man  may  thus  be  able  to  dwell  upon  those  earths  wrhen  he 
departs  from  our  world. 

The  receptacle  of  the  love  and  wisdom  of  God  in  the  degree 
of  ends,  is  that  which  constitutes  the  inmost  of  the  man-spirit. 
It  is  in  this  inmost  that  God  resides  surrounded  with  his  spiri 
tual  sun ;  there  is  his  sanctuary  with  man .  This  inmost,  form 
ed  of  the  purest  substances  at  rest,  derived  from  the  spiritual 
atmosphere  of  the  third  degree,  and  disposed  in  the  most  har 
monious  order,  is  in  reality  the  third  heaven  for  man ;  for  it  is 
by  means  of  this  inmost  receptacle  that  he  is  adapted,  as  you 
will  see  presently,  to  become  an  inhabitant  of  the  third  heaven, 
or  an  angel  of  the  inmost  heaven. 

The  receptacle  of  the  Jove  and  wisdom  of  God  in  the  de 
gree  ol  causes,  is  that  which  constitutes  the  internal  in  the 
man-spirit,  every  part  of  which  envelopes  the  corresponding 
part  of  the  inmost.  This  internal,  formed  from  the  purest 
substances  at  rest,  drawn  from  the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the 


126  LETTERS    TO    A 

second  degree,  and  disposed  also  in  a  harmonious  order,  is 
the  second  heaven  for  man;  for  it  is  by  means  of  this  inter 
nal  receptacle  that  he  can  become  an  angel  of  the  second 
heaven  if  by  his  life  in  the  world  he  has  not  rendered  himself 
fit  to  be  elevated  to  the  inmost  heaven. 

Lastly,  the  receptacle  of  the  love  and  wisdom  of  God  in  the 
degree  of  spiritual  effects,  is  that  which  constitutes  the  interior 
in  the  man-spirit,  all  of  whose  parts  also  envelope  every  cor 
responding  part  of  the  internal  and  of  the  inmost.  This  inter 
ior,  formed  from  the  purest  substances  at  rest  derived  from  the 
spiritual  atmosphere  of  the  last  degree,  and  disposed  likewise 
in  a  harmonious  order,  is  the  first  heaven  for  man;  for  it  is 
by  means  of  this  receptacle  that  he  may  become  an  angel  of 
the  h'rst  heaven,  if  by  his  life  in  the  world,  he  has  not  ren 
dered  himself  fit  to  be  elevated  to  the  superior  heavens. 

As  to  the  state  of  these  three  receptacles  in  the  material 
body  of  man,  the  formation  of  the  material  earths  demonstrates 
to  us  that  all  the  parts  of  each  of  them  are  enveloped  with  fixed 
substances,  which  are  derived  from  the  three  natural  atmos 
pheres,  and  which  correspond  to  the  substances  at  rest  of 
which  these  parts  are  themselves  composed.  Such  is,  in  man, 
the  Divine  order ;  but  the  present  state  of  the  spiritual  world, 
such  as  !  have  presented  to  you  in  my  last  letter,  demonstrates 
to  us  again  that  by  his  fall  man  has  inverted  this  order. 

You  remember  that  the  fall  was  progressive  and  not  instan 
taneous.  In  the  degree  that  man  abandoned  goodness  and 
truth  for  the  evil  and  the  false,  he  removed  himself  from  God 
to  turn  himself  more  and  more  towards  himself:  the  love  and 
the  wisdom  of  God  then  experienced  an  increasing  difficulty 
in  penetrating  into  their  receptacles,  and  by  degrees  there  was 
formed  in  man  an  inverse  order,  having  its  proper  receptacle 
for  the  love  of  self  and  self-derived  intelligence,  or  in  other 
words  for  hatred  and  folly ;  and  when  man  had  entirely  fallen 
into  the  evil  and  false,  the  receptacles  of  the  love  and  wisdom 


MAN    OP   THE   WORLD.  127 

of  God  were  completely  closed,  and  those  of  hatred  and  folly 
completely  open.  It  is  thus  that  man  himself  introduced  dis 
order  into  his  primitive  organization.  Subjected  like  all  other 
beings  to  the  law  of  transmission  by  germs,  so  long  as  he  lived 
according  to  order,  his  children  were  born  into  the  order  of  cre 
ation  that  is  to  say,  good  :  but  as  soon  as  by  his  life  in  hatred 
and  folly,  he  had  inverted  the  order  to  which  he  had  been 
created,  his  children  were  born  into  inverted  order,  that  is  to 
say,  into  evil  or  into  the  love  of  self. 

Nevertheless,  although  the  receptacles  of  the  love  and  wis 
dom  of  God  were  closed  by  the  fall,  God  did  not  the  less  re 
side  in  the  inmost  of  man,  for  God  is  in  the  inmost  of  every 
thing  ;  if  it  were  not  thus,  man  after  the  fall  could  not  have  lived 
either  in  this  or  in  the  spiritual  world.  But  the  love  and  wis 
dom  of  God  not  being  able  to  manifest  themselves  in  the 
Ulan-spirit  any  farther  than  their  receptacles  are  opened,  man 
would  have  been  forever  deprived  of  that  love  and  wisdom,  if 
God,  who  had  foreseen  the  fall,  had  not  at  the  same  time  in 
his  mercy  provided  means  for  reinstating  him.  This  is  not 
the  place  to  examine  the  means  which  God  employed  to  re 
store  man  to  himself;  we  will  speak  of  this  when  we  come  to 
treat  concerning  points  of  doctrine.  I  will  only  say  that  by 
these  means  the  receptacles  of  the  love  and  wisdom  of  God 
may  successively  be  opened,  and  thus  man  can  again  become 
an  inhabitant  of  the  heavens. 

These  primary  ideas  concerning  man,  being  sufficient  to  en 
able  you  to  form  an  idea  of  spiritual  beings,  we  proceed  now 
to  extend  our  investigations  to  them. 

According  to  the  explications  given  you  in  my  last  letter,  the 
spiritual  world  is  composed  of  two  organisms  absolutely  oppo 
site,  called  heaven  and  hell,  and  of  a  mixed  organism  denomi 
nated  the  world  of  spirits  ;  then  heaven  and  hell  are  subdivi 
ded  each  into  three  great  parts  distinct  in  themselves,  accor 
ding  to  the  order  of  degrees,  so  that  there  are  three  heavens 
6* 


128  LETTERS   TO   A 

and  three  hells.  Such  are  the  principal  divisions  which  now 
exist  in  the  spiritual  world. 

The  angels  of  the  inmost  or  supreme  heaven  are  men  who, 
by  their  life  in  the  world,  rendered  themselves  fit  to  receive 
the  love  and  wisdom  of  God  in  the  supreme  degree,  or  degree 
of  ends.  As  the  inmost  of  man  is  formed  of  the  purest  sub 
stances  at  rest,  derived  from  the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the 
third  degree,  these  angels,  living  then  by  this  inmost  alone, 
are  in  the  purest  state ;  surrounded  with  an  atmosphere  which 
proceeds  immediately  from  the  spiritual  sun,  they  receive 
without  any  other  medium,  the  influence  of  this  sun,  or  rather 
influx  from  God  ;  and  consequently  spiritual  heat,  or  the  divine 
love,  and  the  spiritual  light  or  the  divine  wisdom,  are  not  tem 
pered  in  their  manifestations  to  them  except  by  this  atmosphere 
alone. 

Here  I  will  make  one  observation.  You  know  that  God,  by 
his  spiritual  sun,  is  in  every  created  being,  and  that  it  is  by 
the  heat  and  light,  of  this  sun,  that  he  vivifies  all  creation  :  but 
the  divine  love  is  so  ardent  and  the  divine  wisdom  so  tran- 
scendantly  bright,  that  all  spiritual  beings  would  be  consumed 
in  an  instant,  if  God  did  not  temper  this  ardor  and  this  bril 
liancy,  by  veiling  himself  more  or  less  by  spiritual  atmos 
pheres,  in  order  to  proportion  his  love  and  wisdom  to  the  state 
of  every  being.  Thus  God  being  always  present  in  the  inmost 
of  spiritual  beings,  is  never  nearer  to  or  more  distant  from  one 
than  another  j  but  he  is  more  or  less  veiled,  so  that  the  inten 
sity  of  spiritual  heat  and  light  depends  upon  the  media  which 
they  traverse  before  they  affect  us.  The  same  thing  is  pro 
duced  in  the  material  world,  and  the  analogy  is  striking :  indeed 
science  proves  that  no  being  of  our  globe  could  support  either 
the  heat  or  the  light  of  our  sun,  even  if  that  luminary  were  a 
thousand  times  more  remote  from  us  than  it  really  is,  if  there 
did  not  exist  atmospheric  media  to  temper  i's  heat  and  light  j 
thut  without  these  media  all  the  globes  which  gravitate  around 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  129 

it,  would  be  set  on  fire  and  reduced  to  liquefaction  ;  and  that 
consequently  the  intensity  of  natural  heat  and  light  depends 
upon  the  media  which  they  traverse  before  arriving  at  objects, 
and  by  no  means  upon  the  distance  of  the  sun  from  those 
objects. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  among  beings  of  our  globe  some  live  in 
the  air,  others  upon  the  surface  of  the  globe,  others  in  waters,  and 
others  in  the  interior  of  the  earth,  it  is  evidently  because  they 
are  not  all  susceptible  of  receiving  the  same  intensity  of  nat 
ural  heat  arid  light ;  but,  besides  this,  those  which  fly  in  the  air 
pass  through  regions  more  or  less  elevated-  those  which  are  upon 
the  earth,  live  in  climates  more  or  less  tempered  ;  those  which 
swim  in  the  seas  keep  in  greater  or  less  depths ;  and  those  which 
conceal  themselves  in  the  earth  are  more  or  less  remote  from 
the  surface:  analogy  again  shows  us  then,  that  in  the  same 
heaven,  angels  have  mansions  which  differ  from  each  other, 
as  they  are  adapted  to  receive,  according  to  continuous  degrees, 
more  or  less  love  and  wisdom. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  deepest  hell  opposite  to  the  highest 
heaven,  are,  on  the  contrary,  men  who  in  the  world  have 
lived  in  the  evils  and  the  falses  of  the  third  degree  or  the  de 
gree  of  ends;  the  purer  the  angels  of  the  highest  heaven,  the 
more  impure  are  those  infernal  spirits.  The  inmost  inverted 
form,  in  which  they  live,  is  as  hideous  as  that  of  the  third 
heaven  is  beautiful ;  in  a  word,  everything  in  this  hell  is  the 
opposite  of  the  highest  heaven. 

As  to  the  two  other  heavens  and  the  two  other  hells  which 
are  opposite  to  them,  it  will  be  seen  also,  from  the  preceding, 
what  is  the  nature  of  their  inhabitants. 

The  angels  of  the  second  heaven  are  men  who,  by  their  life 
in  the  world,  have  only  rendered  themselves  fit  to  receive  the 
love  and  wisdom  of  God  in  the  degree  of  causes ;  and  the  in 
habitants  of  the  second  hell  opposite  to  that  of  heaven,  are 
those  who  in  the  world  have  lived  in  the  evils  and  falses  of 


130  LETTERS    TO    A 

this  same  degree.     With  the  first  the  internal  has  been  restor 
ed  to  order';  with  the  others  it  has  been  inverted. 

Lastly,  the  angels  of  the  first  heaven  are  men  who,  by  their 
life  in  the  world,  have  only  rendered  themselves  fit  to  receive 
the  love  and  the  wisdom  of  God  in  the  degree  of  spiritual  ef 
fects:  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  first  hell  opposite  to  "this 
heaven,  are  those  who,  in  the  world,  have  Jived  in  the  evils 
and  the  falses  of  this  same  degree.  The  interior  has  been 
restored  to  order  with  the  first,  and  it  has  remained  inverted 
with  the  others. 

The  world  of  spirits  is  between  the  first  heaven  and  the 
first  hell.  It  is  composed  of  all  those  who,  on  leaving  the  nat 
ural  world,  are  not  yet  good  enough  to  enter  into  one  of  the 
heavens,  or  not  yet  wicked  enough  to  plunge  themselves  into 
one  of  the  hells.  The  first  remain  there  until  they  are  divested 
of  the  evils  and  falsities  attached  to  them,  and  the  second  until 
they  have  rejected  the  little  goodness  and  truth  remaining  with 
them. 

It  was  indispensable  to  enter  upon  these  preliminary  details 
before  we  could  understand  the  nature  of  influx,  or  the  man 
ner  in  which  life  penetrates  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  spiritual 
world,  and  consequently  to  men. 

God  governs  the  whole  universe  by  influx.  We  call  that 
common  influx  which  concerns  the  universe  in  general,  and  par 
ticular  influx  that  which  specially  concerns  the  inhabitants  of  the 
spiritual  world  and  men.  There  are  other  kinds  of  influx,  of 
which  I  will  speak  to  you  at  another  time,  but  for  the  present 
we  will  confine  ourselves  to  the  nature  of  particular  influx. 

It  is  evident  that  the  angel  of  the  supreme  heaven  receives 
immediately  from  the  spiritual  sun  the  love  and  wisdom  of 
God ;  for  this  angel  lives  in  his  inmost  principle,  and  it  is  in 
this  principle  that  God  resides  surrounded  with  his  spiritual 
sun. 

But  the  angels  of  the  second  heaven  cannot  receive  imme- 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  131 

diately,  from  the  spiritual  sun,  the  love  arid  wisdom  ot  God  : 
for  they  live  in  their  internal  and  not  in  their  inmost,  or  what 
is  the  same  thing,  they  are  in  causes  and  not  in  ends  ;  and  as 
there  is  only  contiguity  between  ends  and  euuses,  and  not  con 
tinuity,  the  love  and  the  wisdom  of  God  cannot  descend  from 
ends  into  causes,  but  by  an  influx  of  angels  who  are  in  ends,  up 
on  those  who  are  in  causes.  By  means  of  this  influx,  the 
angels  of  the  third  heaven  communicate  to  the  angels  of  the 
second  their  affections  which  proceed  from  the  love  of  God,  and 
their  thoughts  which  proceed  from  his  wisdom  ;  but  these  affec 
tions  and  thoughts  which  with  the  first  are  relative  to  ends,  be 
come  only  relative  to  causes  when  the  second  receive  them. 
This  results  evidently  from  the  degree  of  life,  or  of  love  and 
wisdom  in  which  these  last  are. 

You  have  seen  that  with  the  angels  of  the  second  heaven  the 
inmost  is  closed  ;  but  as  every  inmost  receptacle  is  from  its 
very  nature  a  supreme  heaven,  since  it  is  formed  of  the  purest 
substances  from  the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the  third  degree, 
and  since,  moreover,  heaven  is  in  the  angel  and  in  man,  though 
it  manifests  itself  out  of  the  angel  and  man,  it  results  thence 
that  the  inmost  of  the  angels  of  the  second  heaven,  closed  for 
them,  is  open  for  the  angels  of  the  highest  heaven :  this,  then 
is  the  receptacle  which  serves  them  for  a  continent,  basis, 
and  support,  and  it  is  from  this  that  they  flow  into  the  internal 
of  the  angels  of  the  second  heaven. 

You  will  doubtless  be  much  astonished  to  learn  that  angels 
having  substance  and  form,  are  in  other  angels  ;  but  reflect  a 
moment,  I  pray  you,  upon  the  nature  of  spiritual  substances 
and  forms ;  remove  from  your  thought  the  idea  of  space  and 
time,  and  your  astonishment  will  cease.  In  saying  to  you  repeat 
edly  that  God  is  in  man,  I  made  use  of  no  metaphor.  God  is 
really  in  the  inmost  of  man,  but  he  is  there  veiled  in  his  spir 
itual  sun.  So  the  highest  heaven  is  altogether  in  the  inmost  of 
man,  but  it  is  not  veiled  there  :  yet  this  inmost  being  closed 


132  LETTERS    TO    A 

with  men  during  their  life  in  the  world,  and  with  angels  and 
spirits  who  have  not  rendered  themselves  fit  to  receive  the 
Jove  and  wisdom  of  God  in  the  degree  of  ends,  is  the  reason 
why  this  supreme  heaven  is  not  manifested  to  their  eyes ;  but 
if  their  inmost  were  opened  they  would  be  instantly  in  this 
heaven,  because  this  heaven  is  for  them  included  in  their  in 
most.  So  of  the  rest,  of  which  you  will  be  fully  convinced 
when  we  enter  into  the  details  upon  the  objects  of  the  spirit 
ual  world.  Now  if  all  the  supreme  heaven  be  in  general  in 
the  inmost  of  the  angel  of  the  second  heaven,  why  be  aston 
ished  that  angels  of  this  supreme  heaven  should  make  in  this 
inmost  their  habitual  residence  ?  Yes,  my  dear  sir,  yon  and  I 
have  not  only  God  and  the  supreme  heaven  in  us,  but  we  have 
in  us  the  whole  spiritual  world ;  we  have  God  and  the 
supreme  heaven  in  our  inmost,  and  the  lowest  hell  in  our 
inverted  inmost,  the  second  heaven  in  our  internal,  and  the 
second  hell  in  our  inverted  internal,  first  heaven  in  our  interior, 
and  the  first  hell  in  our  inverted  interior  j  and  lastly,  the 
whole  intermediate  world  in  our  man-spirit,  such  as  it  is  now, 
that  is  to  say,  impregnated  with  terrestrial  affections  and 
thoughts;  and  it  is  because  this  is  the  case  that  it  would  hap 
pen,  if  to  morrow  we  should  quit  this  world,  we  would  be 
there  immediately,  and  without,  for  that  reason,  being  obliged 
to  make  any  progression  of  distance  or  change  of  place  j  we 
should  be,  I  say  in  the  midst  of  the  world  of  spirits,  with  the  same 
affection  and  thoughts  that  we  now  have,  and  afterwards  we 
should  go  either  into  one  of  the  heavens  or  one  of  the  hells, 
according  as  by  our  life  here  below  we  should  have  rendered 
ourselves  fit  to  receive  in  a  degree  more  or  less  elevated, 
either  the  love  and  wisdom  of  God,  or  the  hatred  and  folly 
which  proceed  from  the  love  of  self  and  self-derived  intelli 
gence.  But  let  us  return  to  our  discussion. 

If  an  angel  of  the  highest  heaven  were  not  in  the  inmost  of  an 
angel  of  the  second  heaven,  he  could  not  subsist,  and  the  parts 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  133 

of  his  body  would  be  dissipated  like  gases  which  are  not  com 
pressed.  Indeed,  the  angel  of  the  supreme  heaven,  living  in 
his  inmost  receptacle,  has  successively  divested  himself  of  the 
other  Aceptacles  which  invested  his  inmost,  and  consequently 
of  the  internal  receptacle  which  was  its  immediate  envelope  ; 
he  would  not  have  then  any  more  envelopes  to  maintain  the 
parts  of  his  body  in  permanent  cohesion,  if  these  receptacles 
were  not  replaced ;  now  it  is  this  which  happens  to  the  inter 
nal  receptacle,  that  this  angel,  as  soon  as  he  is  divested  of  his 
internal,  resides  in  the  inmost  of  an  angel  of  the  second  heaven, 
aud  as  this  last  angel  lives  in  his  internal,  this  internal  serves 
the  angel  of  the  supreme  heaven  for  a  continent,  basis,  and 
support. 

It  is  true  that  the  internal  of  the  angel  of  the  second  heaven 
has  but  little  more  consistence  than  the  inmost  of  the  angel  of 
the  supreme  heaven,  for  the  only  difference  which  exists  be 
tween  these  two  receptacles  is  that  one  is  formed  from  substan 
ces  at  rest  from  the  atmosphere  of  the  second  degree,  and  the 
other  from  substances  at  rest  from  the  atmosphere  of  the  third 
degree.  But  observe,  that  as  a  consequence  of  the  same  law 
the  angel  of  the  second  heaven  has  for  a  residence  the  interior 
of  an  angel  of  the  first  heaven,  which  serves  him  for  a  conti 
nent,  basis,  and  support  ;  and  that  the  angel  of  the  first  heaven 
in  like  manner  resides  in  a  spirit  of  the  intermediate  world. 
Yet,  although  these  different  receptacles  are  less  and  less  at 
tached  as  to  the  substances  which  compose  them,  they  would 
nevertheless,  have  no  consistence  and  would  all  be  dissipated, 
if  they  did  not  repose  at  last  upon  a  stable  basis  ;  and  this  solid 
basis  is  the  man  whom  the  spirit  of  the  intermediate  world  him 
self  has  for  a  continent,  basis  and  support.  Thus,  according 
to  this  law  of  order,  it  can  be  explained  how  spiritual  beings 
in  certain  circumstances,  may  descend  from  the  superior  regions 
of  the  spiritual  world  into  inferior  regions,  and  appear  even  be 
fore  men  whose  spiritual  eyes  are  opened  ;  we  can  also  under- 


134  LETTERS   TO    A 

stand  why  our  soul  or  man-spirit,  in  quitting  its  terrestrial  en 
velope,  is  not  dissipated  like  a  vapor  since  it  finds  in  the  in 
habitants  of  our  world  a  receptacle  which  serves  for  a  continent, 
basis  arid  support. 

II  an  angel  of  the  supreme  heaven  cannot  subsist  without 
being  in  the  inmost  of  an  angel  of  the  second  heaven,  an  angel  of 
the  second  heaven,  on  the  other  hand,  could  not  live  if  he  had 
not  in  his  inmost  one  or  more  angels  of  the  third  heaven  ;  for 
life  is  composed  of  affections  and  thought's  ;  and  according  to 
what  precedes,  affections  and  thoughts  cannot  flow  into  this 
angel,  but  by  the  medium  of  the  angels  of  the  supreme 
heaven. 

I  have  said  that  there  is  in  the  inmost  of  this  angel,  one  or 
more  angels  of  the  third  heaven ;  this  requires  some  expla 
nation. 

The  angel  of  the  second  heaven,  receiving  his  affections  and 
thoughts  from  the  supreme  heaven,  if  his  inmost  were  always 
occupied  by  a  single  angel  or  by  the  same  angels,  he  himself 
would  be  an  automaton  obliged  to  follow  all  the  impulses 
which  are  given  to  him.  But  each  angel,  enjoying  liberty  and 
rationality,  which  are  faculties  proper  to  him,  i$  able  to  appro 
priate  to  himself  or  reject  the  affections  and  thoughts  which 
he  receives  from  the  angels  who  are  in  his  inmost.  Those 
then  from  whom  proceed  the  affections  and  thoughts  which  he 
rejects,  finding  themselves  no  longer  in  correspondence  with 
him,  are  induced  for  that  very  reason  to  quit  him,  and  others 
succeed  who  are  more  in  harmony  with  him.  It  is  thus  that 
the  angel  of  the  second  heaven  has  really  a  life  proper  to 
himself. 

You  see  from  what  precedes,  that  the  angels  of  the  third 
heaven  are  in  those  of  the  second,  as  ends  are  in  causes,  or 
rather  as  causes  are  in  the  effects  -}  for  in  considering  the 
second  heaven  as  the  effect,  the  supreme  heaven  is  the  cause 
and  the  spiritual  sun  is  the  end,  so  in  considering  the  supreme 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  135 

heaven  as  effect,  the  spiritual  sun  is  the  cause  and  God  is  the 
end.  Now,  in  like  manner,  as  the  cause  is  out  of  the  effect, 
though  being  in  the  effect,  so  also,  the  inhabitants  of  the  third 
heaven  are  out  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  second  heaven,  though 
in  their  inmost. 

The  inmost  of  the  angels  of  the  second  heaven  being  closed, 
it  thence  results  that  in  their  normal  state  these  angels  neither 
see  those  of  the  supreme  heaven,  nor  this  heaven  itself.  I  say 
in  their  normal  state,  for  theni  exist  laws  of  permission,  provi 
ded  from  all  eternity,  and  appertaining  also  to  order,  and  accord 
ing  to  those  laws  there  can  be,  in  certain  cases,  a  communica 
tion  opened  not  only  between  these  heavens,  but  also  between 
all  parts  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  even  between  that  world 
and  ours.  It  is  thus  that  man  in  his  normal  state  cannot  see 
the  spiritual  world,  and  yet  that  in  certain  cases  his  spiritual 
sight  can  be  opened,  and  then  he  sees  objects  and  inhabitants 
of  this  spiritual  world.  When,  then,  God  permits  the  inmost 
of  the  angels  of  the  second  heaven  to  be  opened,  they  are  ac 
tually  in  communication  with  the  angels  of  the  supreme  hea 
ven  ]  but  without  this  permission,  no  other  communication  exists 
between  them  than  by  particular  influx,  and  according  to  cor 
respondences. 

What  I  have  just  said  concerning  the  second  heaven  in  rela 
tion  to  the  third,  is  applicable  to  the  first  in  relation  to  the  sec 
ond.  1  will  only  add  that  the  affections  and  thoughts  which 
the  angels  of  the  superior  heavens  transmit,  although  they  are 
inmost  and  internal,  or  relate  to  ends  and  causes,  are  trans 
formed  into  affections  and  thoughts  of  the  first  degree,  or  having 
relation  to  spiritual  effects,  when  they  are  received  by  the  an 
gels  of  the  first  heaven. 

Particular  influx  is  transmitted  afterwards  according  to  the 
same  laws  to  the  world  of  spirits.  Those  who  sojourn  in  this 
world  are  destined  to  inhabit  either  one  of  the  heavens  or  one 
of  the  hells,  according  as  they  have  rendered  themselves  fit  dur- 


136  LETTERS    TO   A 

ing  their  life  upon  earth  to  receive  or  reject  the  love  and  wisdom 
of  God  in  their  different  degrees.  But  as  they  are  still  full  of 
terrestrial  affections  and  thoughts — though  they  are  disengaged 
from  their  material  body — their  inmost,  their  internal  and 
their  interior  cannot  be  completely  opened,  whether  for  the 
life  of  heaven,  or  the  life  of  hell,  until  after  they  have  reject 
ed  these  affections  and  thoughts.  They  live  in  this  interme 
diate  world,  both  by  the  influx  which  they  receive  from  the  hea 
vens,  and  by  the  contrary  influx,  which  comes  to  them  from  the 
hells,  influx  of  which  I  am  now  about  to  speak. 

You  have  already  seen  that  man,  by  his  fall,  had  destroyed 
in  himself  the  order  of  creation,  and  that  by  the  change  of  the 
love  of  God  into  self-love,  or  into  hatred  against  others,  and 
by  that  of  the  wisdom  of  God  into  self-derived  intelligence  or 
folly,  he  had  formed  in  himself  an  inverted  order,  which  had 
its  receptacles  for  the  three  degrees  of  hatred  and  folly,  or  evil 
and  the  false.  You  have  also  seen  that  thence  had  resulted 
three  hells  opposite  to  the  three  heavens,  the  deepest  hell 
consisting  in  inmost  hatreds  and  follies,  or  what  relates  to 
ends,  the  second  hell  in  internal  hatreds  and  follies,  or  what 
relates  to  causes,  and  the  first  hell  in  interior  hatreds  and  fol 
lies,  or  what  relates  to  spiritual  effects.  From  the  deepest 
hell  then  there  proceeds  also  by  reaction  an  influx ;  but  this 
influx  operating  upon  the  two  other  hells  arid  upon  the  world 
of  spirits,  in  a  sense  inverse  of  the  influx  of  the  supreme 
heaven  upon  the  two  other  heavens,  and  upon  this  world  of 
spirits,  I  believe  it  to  be  useless  to  enter  again  into  all  the  de 
tails  which  I  have  given  you.  You  will,  besides,  readily  ac- 
kno\vledge  that  with  the  spirits  of  the  intermediate  world, 
their  inmost  inverted  includes  demons  of  the  deepest  hell, 
their  inverted  internal  demons  of  the  second  hell,  and  their  in 
verted  interior  demons  of  the  first  hell.  You  will  acknowledge 
also  with  the  same  facility  that  th>>  inhabitant  of  the  deepest  hell 
has  for  continent,  basis,  and  support  the  inverted  inmost  of 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  137 

the  inhabitant  of  the  second  hell ;  that  of  the  second  hell  the 
inverted  internal  of  the  inhabitant  of  the  first  hell ;  and  that 
of  the  first  hell  the  inverted  interior  of  the  inhabitant  of  the 
world  of  spirits ;  if,  however,  this  presents  some  difficulty  to 
you  by  reason  of  the  inverted  position  which  the  hells  present, 
it  will  suffice  for  you  to  compare  this  position  to  that  of  the 
antipodes,  and  analogy  will  at  once  remove  the  difficulty. 

By  the  effect  of  these  two  kinds  of  opposite  influx,  the  in 
habitants  of  the  heavens  and  those  of  the  hells  have  for  conti 
nent,  basis,  and  support  those  of  the  intermediate  world ;  but 
this  basis  being,  like  the  preceding,  of  a  spiritual  nature, 
would  still  present  no  consistence,  and  all  would  be  dissipated 
and  vanish  away,  angels,  devils,  and  spirits,  if  it  did  not  rest 
upon  a  solid  basis.  This  last  basis  which  completes  the  edi 
fice  is  man  by  means  of  his  material  body.  In  man  are  good 
and  bad  spirits  who  transmit  to  him  good  and  bad  affections, 
pure  and  impure  thoughts;  and  as  spirits  include  in  them 
selves  angels  a: id  devils,  these  angels  and  these  devils  are  also 
with  man  in  the  different  receptacles  which  his  man-spirit 
contains.  Without  the  affections  and  thoughts  which  are 
transmitted  to  him  from  the  spiritual  world,  and  which  are 
changed  when  he  receives  them  into  natural  affections  and 
thoughts,  man  could  not  live,  for  the  life  of  man  con?ists  in 
affec  ions  and  thoughts:  but  in  order  that  man  may  be  man, 
and  not  an  automaton,  he  has  r  ceived  free  will  and  rationality 
as  his  own,  and  it  is  by  these  two  faculties  that  he  appropriates 
or  rejects  the  affections  and  thoughts  which  come  to  him  from 
the  spiritual  world  by  the  two  influxes.  On  the  other  hand, 
without  man  spiritual  beings  could  not  subsist,  since  it  is  ne 
cessary  that  they  should  have  for  a  support  a  solid  and  stable 
basis  to  contain  them. 

These  general  considerations  concerning  particular  influx 
will  raise  numerous  questions  which  I  will  treat  of  successive 
ly  in  other  letters ;  however,  I  will  not  conclude  this,  though 


138  LETTERS    TO    A 

it  is  already  too  long,  without  drawing  from  this  discussion  a 
consequence  which  may  not  have  escaped  you,  but  which 
nevertheless  demands  from  its  importance  some  explication. 

Since  the  spiritual  world  would  not  exist  nor  subsist  without 
the  natural  world,  it  results  thence  that  if  this  were  destroyed, 
its  destruction  would  necessarily  draw  with  it  that  of  the  other, 
so  that  of  all  that  has  been  created  there  would  remain  abso 
lutely  nothing. 

Those  who  have  hitherto  admitted  and  preached  the  erron 
eous  doctrine  of  the  end  of  the  world,  have  been  believed,  even 
by  persons  who  made  use  of  their  understandings,  because  they 
were  in  complete  ignorance  of  this  strict  connection  which  exists 
between  the  two  worlds,  by  which  the  one  cannot  subsist  with 
out  the  other.  The  end  of  the  world  in  their  idea  presented 
only  the  destruction  of  the  material  part  of  the  universe,  the 
spiritual  part,  by  that  catastrophe,  not  ceasing  to  subsist. 
But  when  the  inmost  connection,  which  makes  the  two  worlds 
one  coherent  whole,  is  known,  it  is  impossible  to  admit  the 
complete  destruction  of  the  material  universe,  since  God  could 
not  destroy  it  without  at  the  same  time  destroying  the  spirit 
ual  universe.  That  God  should  destroy  one  part  of  that 
which  he  has  made  for  the  preservation  and  amelioration  of 
the  other  part,  this,  I  repeat  it,  may  be  conceived  ;  but  that 
he  should  destroy  all  that  he  has  made,  without  any  vestige 
remaining,  this  cannot  be  admitted,  without  charging  God 
with  improvidence  and  folly. 

Besides,  in  order  to  destroy  the  material  universe,  would  it 
not  be  necessary  that  God  should  employ  means  the  reverse  of 
those  he  has  made  use  of  in  creating  it  ?  How,  in  fact,  would 
these  masses  which  gravitate  in  space  be  made  to  disappear? 
Would  he  launch  them  into  chaos  ?  But  we  have  seen  that 
chaos,  such  at  least  as  it  is  commonly  conceived,  is  but  a 
word  without  meaning,  and  never  could  have  existed.  It 
would  be  necesary  then  that  the  material  universe  should  dis- 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  139 

appear,  or  in  other  words,  it  would  be  necessary  that  it  should 
be,  after  its  dissolution,  what  it  was  before  its  construction;  if 
not,  matter  would  always  exist,  though  under  another  form. 
Then  this  would  not  be  what  is  commonly  understood  by  the 
end  of  the  world ;  it  would  be  a  change  of  form,  a  general 
ruin  in  which  the  human  race  would  disappear,  but  it  would 
not  be  the  annihilation  of  matter.  Now  where  was  the  uni 
verse  before  its  creation  ?  As  we  have  seen  by  our  preceding 
remarks,  it  was  in  the  bosom  of  God.  And  what  was  matter 
before  it  possessed  the  forms  it  now  presents'?  We  have  also 
acknowledged,  and  modern  science  proves  it,  that  it  was  com 
posed  only  of  serif  >rm  fluids.  It  would  be  necessary  then  that 
the  emanation  which,  in  proceeding  from  God,  has  taken  forms 
so  varied,  in  order  to  constitute  by  a  succession  of  long  periods 
this  vast  and  beautiful  universe,  it  would  be  necessary,  I  say, 
that  this  emanation  should  return  to  its  first  state,  by  follow 
ing  an  inverse  course,  and  thus  return  into  the  bosom  of  God 
without  external  manifestation.  Then  God  would  have  labored 
in  vain,  and  all  his  work  would  be  to  do  over  again.  Can  such 
a  supposition  for  a  moment  be  admitted  ] 

There  remains  one  objection  j  many  persons  will  no  doubt 
say :  How  can  the  spiritual  world  contain  the  millions  of  souls 
which  each  of  the  millions  of  terrestrial  globes  transmits  to  it 
every  day,  if  this  daily  transmission  is  to  continue  eternally, 
especially  when  it  is  admitted  lhat  souls  are  spiritual  sub 
stances  and  forms  I  How  provide  for  so  many  spiritual  bodies  ? 
This  objection,  it  is  true,  has  nothing  serious  in  it,  and  you 
doubtless  would  not  make  it ;  but  I  have  referred  to  it  because 
it  has  often  been  presented  to  me  by  men  who  have  given 
proofs  of  intelligence,  and  were  endowed  with  good  judgment. 

If  we  would  reflect  a  moment  upon  the  nature  of  what  is 
spiritual,  which  cannot  in  any  manner  be  subject  to  the  laws 
of  space,  we  would  be  very  far  from  making  snch  an  objec 
tion  j  but  accustomed  as  we  are  to  live  in  space  and  time,  and[ 


140  LETTERS    TO    A 

to  refer  everything  to  space  and  time,  our  first  ideas  always  will 
partake  of  the  impressions  which  we  receive  from  them  ;  it  is 
not  astonishing  that  a  similar  objection  should  present  itself  to 
our  minds  as  soon  as  we  speak  of  such  an  immensity  of  spirit 
ual  beings.  But  when  we  abstract  from  our  minds  the  idea  of 
space  and  time,  it  is  easy  to  understand  that  the  spiritual  world) 
though  contained  in  the  natural  world,  could  contain  not  only  all 
the  souls  which  the  terrestrial  globes  will  send  to  it  to  eternity, 
but  a  much  greater  number,  if  it  were  possible,  without  its  in 
habitants  being  crowded.  To  see  that,  it  is  sufficient  to  recollect 
that  the  spiritual  world  is  contained  in  the  natural  world, as  the 
cause  is  contained  in  the  effect,  and  that  the  spiritual  not  being 
subjected  to  the  trammels  of  space,  each  one  of  the  parts  of 
the  other  world  is  always  susceptible  of  taking  all  the  devel 
opment  which  is  necessary  to  it,  without  this  development 
being  for  that  reason  prejudicial  to  the  other  parts,  under  the 
relation  of  the  appea'ances  of  space  which  is  enjoyed  in  the 
spritual  world.  To  the  considerations  which  I  have  just  pre 
sented  to  you  in  favor  of  the  indestructibility  ol  the  material 
universe,  I  could  add  many  others  j  but  this,  I  believe,  would 
be  useless;  for  the  more  we  advance  in  the  examinations  of 
spiritual  things,  the  more  you  will  acknowledge  the  iniimate 
connection  which  renders  the  two  worlds  indispensable  to 
each  other.  Besides,  how  much  sweet  consolation  does  the 
thought,  that  the  material  universe  will  subsist  forever,  pres 
ent  !  What  a  beneficent  impulse  would  it  not  produce  if  it 
were  generally  admitted  !  And  yet  it  is  engraved  ujion  the 
heart  of  man.  Consult  it,  and  an  interior  voice  will  respond 
that  God  has  not  created  this  universe  to  destroy  it.  What ! 
could  God  be  amused  in  creating  a  world  to  destroy  it  as  a 
child  does  with  a  house  of  cards  !  No,  God  is  not  reckless- 
he  is  not  capricious.  He  is  love  itself,  and  wisdom  itself. 
The  universe  was  derived  from  his  love,  and  it  was  by  his  wis 
dom  that  he  created  it  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  that 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  141 

wisdom,  that  is  to  say.  the  laws  of  divine  order.  But  according 
to  these  laws,  man,  for  whom  it  was  created,  was  endowed  with 
free  will,  without  which  he  would  have  been  nothing  more  than 
an  automaton  ;  he  has  made  a  bad  use  of  this  precious  faculty, 
and  has  become  altogether  degenerate.  The  degradation  of  hu 
manity  has  produced  disorder  in  the  spiritual  world,  as  we  have 
seen  ;  and  the  natural  world,  which  is  subject  to  the  spiritual 
world,  according  to  the  laws  of  correspondence,  has  undergone 
an  analogous  alteration.  This  is  the  real  cause  of  the  state  which 
the  world  we  inhabit  now  presents.  But  God.  in  his  infinite 
wisdom,  had  foreseen  this  fall  of  man,  and  had,  in  his  boundless 
love,  provided  means  to  save  by  reinstating  him.  It  is  by  this 
renovation  of  man  in  particular,  that  the  renovation  of  men  in 
general  will  take  place,  and  that  our  world  will  gradually  arrive 
at  the  state  of  splendor  to  which  it  was  destined.  It  is  now 
arising  from  a  long  and  sad  descending  series  of  ages,  to  enter 
upon  a  beautiful  and  glorious  period  which  shall  never  end  ! 

Accept,  &c. 


LETTER   XI. 

You  are  anxious,  my  dear  sir,  to  know  in  its  details,  this 
spiritual  world,  the  generalities  of  which  we  have  just  been 
investigating.  This  anxiety  gives  me  pleasure,  and  I  would 
wish  to  satisfy  it  at  once,  for  I  am  desirous  to  explain  what  is 
the  existence  of  man,  when,  on  leaving  this  earth,  he  enters 
the  world  of  spirits ;  but  the  very  nature  of  our  discussion  re 
quires  us  to  proceed  by  degrees.  Truths  can  only  be  well 
comprehended  so  far  as  those  upon  which  they  are  supported 
have  been  at  first  developed  and  then  admitted.  There  re 
main,  it  is  true,  but  very  few  truths  to  present  to  you  that  you 


142  LETTERS    TO    A 

may  be  placed  in  a  state  to  comprehend  the  existence  of  man 
after  death  •  but  still  it  is  indispensable  that  you  should  know 
them  and  admit  them. 

That  which  I  am  now  going  to  establish  may  at  first  excite 
your  astonishment,  but  the  least  reflection  will  induce  you 
soon  to  acknowledge,  that  it  is  the  consequence  of  those  which 
you  have  already  adopted.  It  is  this: 

Every  general  division  of  the  spiritual  world  has  the  human 
form,  and  the  spiritual  world  in  the  whole  presents  also  this 
form. 

You  have  acknowledged  that  God  is  Very  Man  (or  PJ7o?nme- 
Type).  and  you  have  seen  by  our  preceding  remarks  that  all 
that  which  exists  here  below  tends  to  reproduce,  by  insensible 
shadowings,  the  forms  of  the  primitive  type.  If  it  is  thus  in 
our  world,  with  much  stronger  reason  should  it  be  the  same 
in  the  spiritual  world,  where  life  resides  free  from  the  obstruc- 
tio:ts  ol  matter.  Besides,  since  the  spiritual  world  is  the  emana 
tion  of  God,  and  as  no  object  can  really  exist  without  having  a 
form,  what  other  form  could  this  world  have  but  the  form  of 
the  principle  from  which  it  proceeds. 

Let  us  at  first  examine  it  in  its  general  divisions. 

When  I  explained  the  creation,  in  a  preceding  letter,  I  made 
use  of  the  word  "  sphere,"  because  it  is  that  which  is  usually 
employed  in  treating  of  emanations ;  but  I  did  not  intend  to  be 
understood  by  this  that  the  emanations  proceeding  from  God- 
Man  formed  spheres  according  to  the  strict  construction  of  the 
word,  such  as  those  which  would  result  from  a  body  composed 
of  homogeneous  parts,  and  having  itself  a  form  perfectly  spheri. 
cal.  The  form  which  emanations  must  take,  when  no  foreign 
cause  opposes,  is  evidently  that  of  the  principle  itself.  The 
three  spiritual  atmospheres  that  have  constituted  the  three 
heavens,  being  emanations  from  God-Man,  have  been  devel 
oped  then  according  to  the  form  of  their  principle.  Thus  the 
supreme  heaven,  constituted  of  the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  143 

third  degree,  has  the  form  of  a  man  j  and  it  is  under  this  form 
that  it  is  presented  in  the'complex  to  the  eyes  of  the  divinity. 
The  second  heaven,  constituted  of  the  spiritual  atmosphere 
of  the  second  degree,  has  also  the  human  form;  and  as  it  en 
velopes,  in  every  sense,  the  supreme  heaven,  it  is  under  this 
form  that  it  is  presented  in  the  whole,  to  the  eyes  of  God  and 
to  the  angels  of  the  supreme  heaven.  It  is  the  same  with  the 
first  heaven,  constituted  of  the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the  first 
degree — it  having  the  form  of  man  j  and  as  it  envelopes,  in 
every  sense,  the  second  heaven,  it  is  under  this  form  that  it 
presents  itself,  in  the  whole,  to  the  eyes  of  God  and  angels  of 
the  superior  heavens.  The  three  heavens,  having  thus  the 
human  form ;  being  from  their  very  nature  one  within  another ; 
and  having  God  for  the  common  centre,  the  whole  of  them  to 
gether  present,  in  the  sight  of  God,  the  form  of  one  single  man. 
The  first  heaven  is  the  exterior  of  this  spiritual  organism,  the 
second  heaven  is  its  internal,  arid  the  supreme  heaven  is  its 
inmost. 

But  you  have  seen  that  through  the  work  of  man,  there  was 
formed,  in  opposition  to  the  spiritual  organism,  an  inverted  or 
ganism,  which  is  called  hell.  Seen  in  the  whole  together, 
each  one  of  the  three  hells  presents  also  the  form  of  man  j  but 
this  form,  instead  of  being  that  of  man  created  in  the  image 
and  likeness  of  God,  is  that  of  a  man-monster.  These  three 
hells,  united  in  like  manner,  present  themselves  under  the 
form  of  one  single  human  monster :  the  first  hell  is  the  exter 
ior  of  this  organism,  the  second  hell  is  its  internal,  and  the 
deepest  hell  is  its  inmost. 

The  world  of  spirits  being  a  mixed  spiritual  organism  pre 
sents,  in  the  whole  of  it  together,  a  form  which  is  intermedi 
ate  betweeen  the  true  human  form  and  the  form  of  a  human 
monster. 

I  will  not  insist  further  upon  these  truths  j  it  will  be  very 
easy  for  you  to  perceive  the  strict  results  of  the  principles 


144  LETTERS   TO    A. 

which  I  have  previously  unfolded.  Still  I  ought,  before  we 
proceed  further,  to  anticipate  an  objection  which  presents 
itself,  and  which  would  not  escape  your  notice. 

"  The  spiritual  world,"  you  might  say,  "  being  in  the  nat 
ural  world,  as  the  cause  is  in  the  effect,  and  having  given  to 
this  world  the  form  which  it  presents  to  us,  since  matter  has 
not  of  itself  any  form,  it  results  from  this  that  if  the  spiritual 
universe  has  the  human  form,  the  material  universe  also  should 
have  this  form.  Now  I  do  not  think  that  such  a  position  can 
be  sustained.  Do  we  not  know  that  the  earth  which  we  in 
habit  is  a  spheroid  ?  The  principal  laws  which  govern  our 
planetary  system  are  now  known.  We  know  that  the  planets 
gravitate  around  the  sun,  travelling  in  orbits  whose  tracts  are 
determined;  that  every  satellite  gravitates  around  its  planet  ; 
and  analogy  is  there  which  indicates  that  it  must  be  the  same 
in  the  other  solar  systems.  How,  in  the  presence  of  these  ac 
quired  knowledges,  can  it  be  demonstrated  that  the  material 
universe  has  the  human  form  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  there  is 
here  an  absolute  impossibility.  It  is  in  vain  for  me  to  seek  this 
form  in  the  whole  of  our  universe;  I  should  see  nothing  which 
could  make  an  approach  to  it."  This  I  believe  is  the  objec 
tion  in  all  its  force. 

Swedenborg,  whose  suhlime  theories  I  am  simply  developing 
in  my  letters,  does  not,  it  is  true  explain  himself  upon  the  form 
of  the  material  universe  :  yet  his  theories,  conducting  us  to  the 
consequence  which  forms  the  subject  of  the  objection,  I  proceed 
to  examine  if  it  is  really  impossible,  since  it  seems  at  the  first 
approach,  that  the  material  universe  should  have  the  form  and 
the  constitution  of  the  human  body. 

To  any  one  possessing  a  knowledge  of  astronomy  it  is  evi 
dent,  that  notwithstanding  its  25,000  miles  of  circumference, 
our  globe  is  yet  but  a  single  point  in  space.  The  orbit  even  of 
the  earth,  which  is  more  than  630  millions  of  miles,  is  still  but 
a  point  relatively  to  the  immensity  of  the  universe  ;  indeed,  if 


MAN   OF    THE  WORLD. 


145 


the  stars  seem  to  us  altogether  immovable  during  the  course  of 
the  year,  though  they  should  from  the  motion  of  the  earth 
answer  to  different  positions  in  the  vault  of  heaven,  it  is  evi 
dently  because  our  globe,  notwithstanding  the  630  millions  of 
miles  it  passes  over  in  space,  is  in  respect  to  them  as  if  it  had 
no  motion.  But  further,  the  whole  of  our  solar  system,  of 
which  the  orbit  alone  of  Uranus  has  12.000,000,000  miles,  oc 
cupies  but  an  almost  imperceptible  part  of  the  universe,  when 
we  compare  this  universe  to  the  body  of  man.  This  is  not  a 
paradox ;  it  is  a  truth  which  the  telescope  has  so  well  reveal 
ed  that  no  one  can  doubt  it.  A  simple  survey  of  the  universe, 
such  as  modern  astronomy  presents  ir,  goes  to  convince  us  of 
this  at  once. 

Antiquity,  that  part  at  least  of  which  there  remains  any  his 
torical  monument  counted  but  twenty  two  thousand  fixed  stars . 
But  as  soon  as  the  telescope  was  discovered  an  innumerable 
multitude  of  stars,  till  then  invisible,  were  presented  to  the  as 
tonished  view  of  observers.  The  Abbe  De  la  Caille,  in  one 
third  of  the  arch  of  heaven,  counted  ten  thousand  of  which  he 
gave  a  catalogue,  which  would  be  supposing  thirty  thousand 
for  the  entire  vault.  The  theory  of  nebulae  afterwards  came 
to  increase  the  number  considerably ;  then  the  telescope  being 
more  and  more  improved,  in  a  single  band  of  the  milky  way, 
of  an  extent  of  fifteen  degrees  in  length  by  two  in  breadth, 
Herschell  counted  fifty  thousand;  finally  this  celebrated  as 
tronomer  presumes  the  number  of  stars  mignt  amount  to 
seventy-five  millions. 

Behold  then  already  seventy-five  millions  of  solar  systems, 
of  which  ours  is  perhaps  but  one  of  the  least  extent  j  but  ad 
mitting  for  it  a  proportional  mean,  still  it  would  constitute 
but  the  seventy-five  millionth  part  of  the  universe  j  now,  I  ask 
you  if  the  seventy-five  millionth  part  of  the  body  of  man 
would  not  be  even  by  this  estimate  almost  imperceptible  ? 

But  who  would  dare  to  say  that  there  are  but  seventy-five 


146  LETTERS   TO    A 

millions  of  suns  spread  throughout  space,  when  the  interval 
which  separates  the  stars  from  us  is  of  such  immensity  that  it 
even  frightens  the  imagination  ?  Huygen  found  the  distance 
between  us  and  the  nearest  of  the  stars  was  2,885,045,634,600 
of  miles.  Other  astronomers  have  carried  their  investigations 
to  particular  stars;  that  which  Lalande  "observed  was  at 
20,315,310.000,000  miles;  that  of  Baily  21,482,718,240,000 
that  of  Euler  at  near  42,000,000,000  of  miles.  This  learned 
man,  in  a  letter  to  a  princess  of  Germany,  has  calculated  that 
a  ray  of  light  from  this  star  would  take  six  years  notwithstand 
ing  its  incredible  velocity,  to  reach  our  earth.  If  it  were  pos 
sible  that  a  cannon  ball  projected  from  that  celestial  body 
could  be  transmitted  to  us,  five  millions  four  hundred  thou 
sand  years  would  elapse  before  it  could  reach  us.  Another 
star  which  was  observed  by  Lambert  was  more  than  5 1.000,000 
000,000  of  miles;  finally  Doctor  Derham,  canon  of  Windsor,  who 
observed  the  nebulae,  in  1732,  acknowldged  that  they  were  as 
far  from  the  fixed  stars  as  these  stars  are  from  our  globe. 

If  from  the  30.000  stars  of  the  Abbe  de  la  Caille,  we  have 
reached  by  the  improvement  of  the  telescop  -,  to  the  75.000.000 
of  Herschell,  at  what  number  does  not  so  immense  extent  allow 
us  to  suppose  we  may  arrive  by  means  of  new  improvements  ? 
And  if  an  instrument  should  be  discovered,  which  would  be  to 
the  telescope  what  the  telescope  is  to  the  naked  eye,  instead  of 
millions  we  would  have  to  count  by  the  thousand  of  millions, 
the  suns  which  enlighten  the  universe.  We  may  then  with 
out  fearing  to  be  taxed  with  exaggeration,  assert  that  in  com 
paring  the  material  universe  to  the  body  of  man,  our  solar  sys 
tem  would  form  but  an  almost  imperceptible  part. 

What  do  we  conclude  from  this  ?  It  is  that  if  we  continue 
to  compare  the  universe  to  the  body  of  man  we  are  forced  to 
acknowledge  that  all  the  motions  of  the  globes  which  gravitate 
around  our  sun,  motions  which  appear  to  us  so  magnificent, 
cannot  even  be  discerned  any  longer.  Then  all  these  masses 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  147 

not  only  must  no  longer  appear  to  change  position,  but  they 
must  again  be  confounded  with  their  common  centre,  and  seem 
to  make  with  it  but  one  body  scarcely  visible. 

In  presence  of  all  these  facts  revealed  by  the  telescope,  what 
becomes  of  the  argument  drawn  from  the  gravitation  of  the 
planets  and  their  satellites  1  But  is  it  not  astonishing  that  men 
should  exclaim  against  the  first  idea  of  the  universe  under  a 
human  form :  has  it  not  a  long  time  appeared  incredible  that 
the  earth  is  round  ?  What  would  a  philosopher  of  the  middle 
ages  have  thought,  if  this  truth,  which  is  now  incontestable, 
had  been  advanced  to  him  "?  What  again  would  a  Swiss  cot 
tager  think,  should  any  one  tell  him  that  the  earth  is  like  an 
orange,  and  that  its  surface  presents  no  more  inequalities  than 
that  fruit,  when  that  peasant  would  have  but  to  raise  his  eyes 
to  see  himself  surrounded  by  mountains  in  the  form  of  spires, 
and  contemplate  the  gigantic  Mount  Blanc  ?  Let  us  beware 
of  judging  from  appearances  ;  the  experience  of  the  past  is  suf 
ficient  to  prove  that  they  are  deceitful ;  let  us,  on  this  point,  be 
more  circumspect  than  our  predecessors  were. 

I  have  just  compared  the  material  universe  to  the  body  of 
man,  and  I  have  proved  mathematically  that  in  the  hypothesis 
of  the  universe  under  a  human  form,  our  whole  solar  sys 
tem,  however  vast  it  may  be,  and  however  magnificent  the 
motions  of  its  planets  may  appear,  would  nevertheless  cor 
respond  only  to  an  almost  imperceptible  part  of  the  body  of 
man. 

I  now  proceed  to  show  that  in  the  almost  imperceptible  parts 
of  th^  body  of  man,  there  are  motions  analogous  to  those, 
which  are  performed  in  the  corresponding  solar  systems.  This 
second  proposition  appears  at  least  as  extraordinary  as  the  first: 
but  from  what  we  have  just  seen,  what  learned  man  would 
venture  to  deny  it  ?  If  the  telescope  has  made  such  fine  dis 
coveries  in  the  fields  of  space  indefinitely  great,  the  microscope 
yields  nothing  to  it  on  this  point,  and  every  day  new  wondors 


143  LETTERS    TO    A 

are  discovered  by  it  in  the  no  less  surprising  field  of  space  in 
definitely  small. 

It  is  generally  acknowledged  that  porosity  is  a  quality  inher 
ent  in  matter;  thus  all  bodies  without  exception  are  porous. 
Now,  if  there  are  interstices  between  the  different  molecules 
of  a  body,  how  many  must  there  not  exist  before  we  come  to 
the  parts  which  are  invisible  wiih  the  best  microscopes?  And 
when  we  reflect  on  the  extreme  minuteness  of  these  parts, 
what  intervals  relatively  immense  must  there  not  be  between 
them  !  From  this  we  may  conceive  that  all  that  which  we 
have  said  on  the  subject  of  the  indefinitely  great  is  equally  ap 
plicable  to  the  indefinitely  least  of  things;  for  the  distances 
which  separate  the  objects  of  the  one  are  proportional  to  the 
distances  which  separate  the  objects  of  the  other. 

If  you  were  not  already  acquainted  with  the  wonderful 
things  which  are  discovered  by  the  microscope,  in  the  domain 
of  the  indefinitely  least  of  things,  I  would  have  drawn  a  sketch 
of  it  to  support  my  position :  recall,  then,  to  your  memory  the 
principal  microscopic  experiences,  and  my  proposition  will 
cease  to  appear  extraordinary  to  you. 

A  physician,  who  is  doubtless  far  from  knowing  the  wri 
tings  of  Sweden borg,  has  published,  upon  the  orbitary  motion 
of  atoms,  a  theory  which  must  confirm  in  some  measure  that 
which  I  present  to  you.  M.  Gaudin,  in  fact,  supposes  that  the 
atoms  of  bodies,  maintained  at  distances  very  great  in  propor 
tion  to  their  dimensions,  perform  around  one  another  motions 
analogous  to  those  of  a  planetary  system. 

Imperfect  as  the  microscope  may  yet  be,  if  we  should  suc 
ceed  in  verifying  the  theory  of  M.  Gaudin,  we  should  doubtless 
find  analogy  between  the  motions  of  what  he  calls  the  atoms 
of  bodies  and  those  of  a  planetary  system ;  but  if  afterwards 
the  investigations  were  applied  to  the  particles  of  the  human 
body  we  should  find  there  something  more  than  analogy ;  we 
should  find  that  there  is  similitude.  I  will  state  upon  what 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  149 

ground  this  conclusion  is  based  :  all  the  objects  of  nature  tend, 
as  I  have  already  said,  more  or  less  to  re-produce  the  human 
form,  which  is  that  of  the  Creator-  it  would  be  then  confor 
mable  to  our  principles  that  there  should  be  found  some  anal 
ogy  between  the  motions  of  the  particles  of  bodies  and  that 
of  the  planetary  system  j  but  as  it  is  man  alone  who  has  the 
form  of  God,  if  the  material  universe,  as  I  suppose,  has  been 
created  according  to  this  form,  it  is  only  in  particles  of  the 
human  body  that  we  could  recognize  a  perfect  similitude  be- 
tween  their  arbitrary  motions  and  those  of  the  solar  systems. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  theory  of  M.  Gaudin  to  show  that  sci 
ence  itself  is  beginning  to  enter  upon  a  way  which  may  lead 
to  great  discoveries.  Science  has  been  for  a  long  time  embar 
rassed  with  a  crowd  of  systems  which  clash  with  and  destroy 
each  other ;  it  knows  that  there  can  be  but  one  which  is  true, 
and  that  true  system  will  be  that  which  will  be  distinguished 
from  others  by  its  extreme  simplicity,  great  economy,  and  its 
universality.  The  less  wheel-work  a  machine  has  the  better 
does  it  perform  its  functions. 

The  objection  which  I  have  anticipated  has  already  con 
ducted  us  very  far  }  but  since  the  qutstion  of  the  material  uni 
verse  under  a  human  form  has  been  raised,  we  will  continue 
the  discussion.  As  everything  must  tend  to  unity,  and  as 
every  fixed  star  is  a  sun  around  which  a  system  of  planets 
gravitates,  certain  astronomers  have  been  led  to  believe  that 
tht»re  exists  a  central  sun,  round  which  all  the  other  suns  also 
gravitate.  What  are  we  to  think  of  this  sun  ?  does  it  really 
exist  ? 

On  the  first  view,  the  existence  of  such  a  central  sun  appears 
probable  enough ;  it  seems  even  to  accord  perfectly  with  the 
spiritual  theory  which  I  have  developed  to  you ;  indeed,  since 
there  is  one  spiritual  sun,  the  centre  of  the  whole  immaterial 
universe,  should  there  not  be  also  a  natural  sun  for  the  centre 
of  the  whole  material  universe  ?  However  strong  these  prob- 


150  LETTERS    TO    A 

abilities  may  be,  you  will  soon  acknowledge  that  they  disap 
pear  before  a  profound  examination. 

The  astronomers  who  are  led  to  believe  that  there  exists  a 
central  sun,  base  their  reasoning  upon  the  analogy  of  the  planets 
to  satellites.  Since,  they  say,  planets  revolve  round  the  sun, 
drawing  with  them  their  satellites,  why  should  not  each  sun 
revolve  round  a  central  sun  drawing  with  it,  in  like  manner 
all  the  globes  which  constitute  its  system? 

In  the  first  place  there  is  not  here  complete  analogy.  In 
fact,  the  planets  and  the  satellites  are  of  the  same  nature,  since 
they  are  both  earths,  and  they  differ  from  their  sun  in  this, 
that  the  sun  is  a  globe  of  fire ;  they  are  then  similar  bodies 
which  revolve  round  a  dissimilar  body,  to  receive  from  it  heat 
and  light.  It  is  not  the  same  when  we  suppose  solar  systems 
revolving  round  a  central  sun;  the  suns  are  not  of  the  same 
nature  with  the  globes  which  they  would  draw  with  them,  and 
besides,  they  would  not  differ  from  the  central  star  around 
which  they  would  revolve ;.  for  we  could  not  conceive  of  this 
central  star  being  any  thing  else  than  a  vast  globe  of  fire  to 
feed  the  other  suns,  which  also  are  globes  of  fire.  But  if  we 
supposed  this  sun  of  a  superior  nature  to  that  of  the  other  suns, 
we  should  run  a  very  great  risk  of  making  it  the  principle  of 
all  nature,  and  of  falling  into  materialism. 

Next  we  see  clearly  that  the  sun  of  every  system  is  indis 
pensable  to  the  globes  which  revolve  around  it.  since  it  trans 
mits  to  them  the  heat  and  light  which  are  necessary  to  them  ; 
but  we  do  not  see  so  well  of  what  use  it  would  be  to  the  mil 
lions  of  suns  to  depend  upon  a  central  sun. 

The  learned,  unable  to  conceive  how  the  universe  could  be 
sustained,  desire  to  extricate  themselves  from  their  embar 
rassment,  by  uniting  through  the  laws  of  gravitation  all  these 
suns  to  a  common  centre  :  but  with  this  additional  wheel-work, 
will  they  succeed  in  diminishing  the  difficulty'?  Will  they 
conceive  any  better  how  this  central  globe  is  itself  sustained  '? 


MAN   OF    THE    WORLD.  151 

Besides,  what  would  become  of  the  material  universe  on  such 
an  hypothesis  ?  Would  it  not  be  a  whole  composed  of  parts 
nearly  similar  ?  for  this  universe  in  the  whole  would  present 
but  the  repetition  of  that  which  it  possesses  in  its  parts ;  now 
we  know  that  the  perfection  of  an  unity,  consists  in  the  diver 
sity,  and  above  all  in  the  beautiful  harmony,  of  all  its  parts. 
You  will  soon  acknowledge  that  this  new  wheel  work  would 
have  been  more  destructive  than  useful  to  the  harmonic  unity 
of  our  universe. 

As  to  the  probability  of  the  existence  of  this  central  sun, 
by  reason  of  the  existence  of  one  only  spiritual  sun,  it  will  not 
bear  an  examination.  What  is  spiritual,  not  being  from  its 
very  nature  subject  to  space  and  time,  the  spiiitual  sun  is  sus 
ceptible  of  being  seen  by  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  other  world. 
If  it  is  not  visible,  if  it  is  more  or  less  veiled,  or  entirely  ob 
scured  to  a  great  number,  this  proceeds  o:ily  from  the  dispo 
sition  of  their  interiors.  It  would  be  necessary,  then,  accord 
ing  to  the  laws  of  analogy,  that  the  central  material  body,  if 
there  existed  one,  should  be  universally  seen,  and  clearly  dis 
tinguished  among  the  other  suns ;  and  the  single  fact  that  we  are 
unable  to  distinguish  such  a  body  throughout  the  whole  vault  of 
heaven,  would  be  at  once  a  strong  presumption  against  its  exis 
tence.  Besides,  from  the  prodigious  number  of  suns  intersper 
sed  through  space,  the  first  notions  of  astronomy  teach  us  that 
for  a  central  body  to  be  invisible  to  all  the  globes  of  the  universe, 
and  to  be  clearly  distinguished  among  the  other  suns,  it  must 
necessarily  be  so  large  as  to  have  no  proportion  between  its 
mass  and  the  laws  of  gravitation.  But  further,  as  the  proba 
bility  in  question  is  supported  from  the  analogy  which  should 
exist  between  the  two  universes,  it  will  necessarily  be  destroyed 
if  it  is  found  to  be  in  opposition  to  the  strict  analogical  conse 
quences,  which  we  have  already  established.  Now  I  have 
shown  in  the  beginning  of  this  letter,  that  the  spiritual  uni 
verse  had  the  form  of  man,  whence  resulted,  according  to  the 


LETTERS    TO   A 

relations  which  exist  between  the  two  worlds,  that  the  material 
universe  should  also  have  this  form.  Nevertheless,  this  propo 
sition  appeared  so  strange,  that  I  have  been  compelled  to  sup 
port  it  by  facts;  and  those  which  I  have  drawn  from  astronomy 
have  shown  you  that  nothing  is  opposed  to  the  idea  that  the 
material  universe  has  the  human  form.  If  then  our  universe 
has  the  human  form,  it  is  evident  that  it  could  riot  have  a 
central  sun,  unless  there  was  in  the  human  body  a  central 
organ  around  which  all  the  others  should  gravitate.  Now  it  is 
in  vain  to  seek  to  discover  such  an  organ  in  the  body  of  man ; 
it  is  very  certain  that  it  has  no  existence  there. 

The  probabilities  in  favor  of  a  central  sun  for  the  universe 
being  thus  destroyed,  I  must  now  show  you  that  this  great 
number  of  natural  suns  for  one  only  spiritual  sun,  does  not 
really  constitute  a  defect  of  analogy  between  the  two  uni 
verses. 

Observe  that  the  spiritual  world,  having  the  human  form,  is 
composed  of  regions  innumerable,  and  in  themselves  distinct, 
as  are  all  the  parts  of  the  human  body  ;  that  these  regions 
are  all  inhabited  by  societies  which  present  among  themselves 
very  sensible  differences ;  that  those,  for  example,  which  oc 
cupy  some  parts  of  the  feet  or  the  hands  of  the  Grand  Man, 
differ  much  from  those  which  are  in  the  parts  of  the  head,  or 
of  one  of  the  viscera  of  the  breast ;  that  these  differences  result 
from  the  disposition  of  the  interiors  of  those  who  compose 
these  societies  ;  that  the  spiritual  sun  does  not  shine  with  the 
same  force  to  the  eyes  of  all  these  societies,  since  the  exis 
tence  of  every  one  of  them  depends  upon  a  special  degree  of 
spiritual  heat  and  light,  the  same  as  in  our  world  the  existence 
of  the  inhabitants  of  each  planet  depends  upon  a  special  de 
gree  of  natural  heat  and  light ;  and  that  thus  the  spiritual 
sun  is  always  more  or  less  veiled,  and  must  appear  to  one 
society  different  from  that  which  it  appears  to  another.  Now 
as  every  solar  system  of  our  universe  corresponds  to  one  of  the 


MAN   OF    THE   WORLD.  153 

parts  of  the  spiritual  universe,  every  natural  sun  corresponds 
to  one  of  these  apparent  differences  of  the  spiritual  sun;  there 
is  actually  then  no  defect  of  analogy.  Thus  our  sun  is  the 
correspondent  of  the  sun  of  life  for  the  very  small  part  of  the 
material  universe  which  gravitates  around  it.  If  there  exis 
ted  a  central  sun.  we  could  uot  comprehend  how  ours  could  be 
the  immediate  correspondent  of  the  spiritual  sun. 

There  is  again,  under  the  relation  of  analogy,  an  objection 
which  you  might  make ;  it  is  that  the  human  form  belongs, 
as  I  have  established  at  the  beginning  of  this  letter,  not  only 
to  the  whole  of  the  spiritual  Vorld,  but  further,  to  each  one 
of  these  general  divisions,  whilst  in  the  natural  world  there 
is  seen  nothing,  in  this  respect,  of  analogy.  I  have  but  one 
simple  observation  to  make  upon  this  subject:  The  general  di 
vision  of  th"  spiritual  world  is  quite  peculiar  to  that  world  ;  for 
ours,  in  consequence  oi  the  properties  of  matter,  cannot  present 
a  resemblance.  It  is  sufficient  to  convince  you  of  this,  to  re 
member  what  has  been  said,  that  the  two  universes,  the  spirit 
ual  and  the  natural,  were  constituted  by  atmospheres,  and  that 
the  three  spiritual  atmospheres  formed  immaterial  earths  dis 
tinct  among  themselves,  according  to  the  three  separate  de 
grees,  whilst  the  natural  atmospheres  contributed  all  three  to 
form  the  one  the  inmost,  the  other  the  interior,  aud  the  last 
the  ultimate  of  the  material  earths.  [Letter  9.] 

I  would  make,  besides,  one  important  remark  ;  it  is,  that  be 
tween  our  system  and  that  which  admits  a  central  sun  and 
thus  gives  to  the  universe  a  spherical  form,  there  is,  under  the 
relation  of  the  harm>>ny  of  parts,  thefsame  difference  as  between 
the  beautiful  structure  of  the  human  body,  and  that  of  a  round 
body. 

I  have  sought,  in  the  examination  of  this  question,  to  antici 
pate  the  objections  which  you  might  make  ;  if  others  should 
present  themselves  to  your  mind,  be  pleased  to  communicate 
them. 


154  LETTERS    TO    A 

Now,  let  us  take  a  view  of  the  advantages  which  the  system 
of  the  universe  under  a  human  form  can  present  to  the  philo 
sophical  Christian. 

Since  the  laws  of  attraction  and  gravitation  have  been 
known,  men  have  vainry  sought  to  discover  the  cause  of  these 
laws.  Deists,  upon  this  point,  have  not  been  more  happy 
than  materialists,  for  in  considering,  with  the  materialist,  the 
material  universe  under  a  spherical  form,  it  became  impossi 
ble  suitably  to  explain  the  relations  which  exist  between  God. 
the  universe,  and  man.  What  exact  relations  could  they  find 
between  their  God,  who  has  neither  substance  nor  form,  their 
universe  under  the  form  of  a  ball,  and  man  whose  structure  is 
so  different  ?  But  when  it  is  recognized,  as  it  is  by  us,  that 
God  is  Man  Himself,  or  VERY  MAN,  and  the  universe  is  admit 
ted  to  be  in  the  human  form,  all  is  united,  everything  is  con 
nected  in  a  manner  as  simple  as  it  is  admirable,  and  the 
structure  of  the  material  universe,  being  like  that  of  the  body 
of  man,  the  knowledge  of  our  body  may  conduct  us  to  that  of 
the  universe. 

Why  indeed  does  your  body,  composed  of  material  ele 
ments,  move,  though  from  its  very  nature  matter  is  inert  ? 
You  have  already  acknowledged,  that  it  is  because  there  is  in 
you  a  spiritual  man  which  gives  it  motion.  Well,  it  is  the 
same  with  the  great  material  man,  or  the  natural  universe — 
it  receives  its  motion  from  the  grand  immaterial  Man,  or  the 
spiritual  universe.  As  to  your  spiritual  man  and  the  grand 
immaterial  Man,  though  you  have  concerning  them  as  yet  but 
indistinct  ideas,  you  however  know  that  they  derive  the  form 
they  have  from  God -man,  and  from  this  alone  you  may  see 
with  what  harmonious  simplicity,  and  with  what  admirable 
economy  of  means,  the  Divine  Architect  has  constructed  and 
sustains  all  that  which  exists ;  but  farther  on,  you  will  find  in  the 
explications  which  I  will  give  you  concerning  the  man-spirit 
and  the  spiritual  world,  new  motives  of  admiration  and  new 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  155 

means  of  confirmation.  However,  I  ought  even  now  to  ob 
serve,  that  if  I  call  the  universe  the  Grand  Man,  it  is  not  that 
it  is  properly  speaking  a  man,  that  is  to  say,  a  being  endowed 
with  will  and  understanding,  it  is  only  an  immense  organism, 
all  the  parts  of  which,  disposed  according  to  the  body  of  man 
have  been  destined  to  be  the  representative  theatres  of  the  glory 
of  God,  serving  for  the  habitation  of  men,  who  alone  are  com 
pletely  created  in  the  image  and  according  to  the  likeness  of 
the  Divinity.  I  make  this  observation,  because  certain  philos 
ophers  still  pretend  that  the  universe  is  a  being  endowed 
with  intelligence. 

I  might  here  conclude  this  discussion  ;  however,  as  I  ought 
to  neglect  nothing  in  so  grave  a  subject,  I  will  examine  yet 
one  question  which  may  occur  to  you  ;  but  this  will  only  be  to 
prove  to  you  how  useless  it  is  for  a  man  to  employ  his  medita 
tions  about  things,  which  it  will  never  be  given  to  him  to  com 
prehend.  This  question  is  :  il  The  universe  having  the  form 
of  man,  what  existence  is  there  out  of  that  form'?"  In  ad 
vance,  I  must  make  one  remark ,  viz :  that  this  question  does 
not  concern  only  the  universe  under  a  human  form  j  but  that  it 
may  quite  as  well  be  addressed  to  those  who  represent  it  to 
themselves  under  a  spherical  form.  But  whether  the  universe 
has  the  form  of  a  man  or  that  of  a  sphere,  there  will  always  be 
the  same  difficulty  in  conceiving  it  in  all  its  extension,  and  this 
difficulty  arises  from  the  fact,  that  our  thoughts  are  continually 
influenced  by  ideas  of  space,  because  living  in  the  material  world 
we  are  unable  to  make  a  complete  abstraction  from  space,  which 
is  an  accident  inherent  in  matter.  Men  usually  reason  concern 
ing  the  infinite  as  if  they  could  comprehend  it,  and  yet  it  is  im 
possible  to  have  the  least  idea  of  it;  in  the  spiritual  world,  where 
there  is  only  the  appearance  of  sp  tee,  it  is  possible  to  form 
some  idea  of  it ;  but  to  comprehend  the  infinite,  it  is  necessa 
ry  to  be  infinite,  that  is  to  say,  God.  Between  the  infinite 
and  the  finite  there  cannot  be  any  relations,  and  the  word  in- 


156 


LETTERS    TO    A 


finite  should  never  be  employed  but  in  speaking  of  God  and 
his  attributes. 

It  cannot  then  be  pretended  that  the  universe  is  infinite,  for 
this  would  be  making  it  God,  but  we  may  say  that  it  is  inde 
finite.  In  fact  between  the  indefinite  and  the  infinite  there  is 
this  difference,  that  the  indefinite  is  extended  as  far  as  our 
imagination  can  go,  while  the  infinite  admits  neither  the  idea 
of  the  greatest  nor  of  the  least  j  and  besides,  though  the  inde 
finite  cannot  be  expressed  by  a  number,  nevertheless,  relative 
ly  to  the  infinite,  it  is  itself  finite,  arid  so  finite  that  there 
cannot  exist  between  the  two  any  relation. 

Though  the  material  universe  has  a  form,  yet  as  this  uni 
verse  is  indefinite,  it  results  thence  that  space  is  indefinitely 
extended;  now,  to  ask,  what  exists  out  of  the  form  of  the  uni 
verse  ?  is  in  other  words  to  ask,  what  exists  out  of  space  ? — an 
idle  question,  as  the  terms  which  we  are  obliged  to  make  use 
of  to  form  it  sufficiently  indicate.  Out  of,  is  in  fact  an  ex 
pression  which  belongs  in  an  absolute  manner  to  space,  and 
has  no  meaning  when  separate  from  the  idea  of  space.  Re 
flect  a  moment  on  the  idea  which  the  expression  out  of  excites 
in  you,  when  you  ask  yourself :  what  exists  out  of  the  universe  ? 
and  you  will  admit  at  once  that  you  are  then  under  ihe  im 
pression  of  an  idea  of  space.  All  that  you  could  suppose  then 
to  be  out  of  the  universe  would  be  still  in  space,  and  would  still 
be  part  of  the  grand  material  man,  or  our  universe.  It  is  in 
vain  to  seek  abstraction  from  space,  whether  in  saying  out  of  the 
universe,  or  by  employing  any  other  words  of  this  kind ;  we 
always  remain  fixed  to  space  not  only  by  the  employment  of 
expressions,  but  by  the  thought  which  is  itself  composed 
only  of  ideas  of  space.  Should  not  this  very  evident  impossi 
bility  dissuade  men  from  occupying  themselves  with  questions 
which  are  above  human  intelligence  ? 

These  considerations  upon  space  apply  also  to  time.  When 
I  said  to  you  in  my  last  letter  that  the  material  world  would 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  157 

subsist  always,  I  did  not  mean  that  it  would  be  eternal.  Al 
ways  is  not  eternity.  We  cannot  here  below,  enveloped  as 
we  are  by  time,  have  any  idea  of  eternity;  in  the  spiritual 
world,  where  there  is  but  the  appearance  of  space  and  time, 
spiritual  beings  can  form  some  idea  of  it ;  but  the  Eternal 
Himself  can  only  comprehend  eternity.  Multiply  ages  by 
ages  as  long  as  you  please,  you  never  will  obtain  eternity,  be 
cause  you  will  remain  in  time  without  ever  going  out  of  it, 
and  you  will  thus  have  behind  you  a  past,  and  before  you  a  fu 
ture.  Always,  or  the  indefinite  of  time,  differs  from  eternity  in 
this  that  always  extends  itself  as  far  as  the  imagination  can 
carry  the  succession  ol  time,  with  the  unavoidable  idea  of  the 
past  and  the  future,  whilst  eternity  admits  neither  the  idea  of 
the  past  nor  the  future.  Man  is  destined  to  live  always,  be 
cause  he  is  immortal ;  but  immortality  is  not  eternity;  for  if 
man  in  the  spiritual  world  is  no  longer  in  time,  he  is  in  the 
appearance  of  time,  and  consequently  in  that  of  the  past  and 
future.  God  alone  has  the  past  and  future  in  the  present,  be 
cause  he  alone  is  Eternal. 

All  this  is  because  the  indefinite  is  the  image  of  the  infinite, 
and  because  the  infinite  is  in  God,  and  indefinites  are  in  the 
spiritual  sun,  whence  proceed  the  two  universes. 

To  resume,  t  see  not,  my  dear  sir,  any  impossibility  in  the 
material  universe  having  the  human  form.  The  more  I  reflect 
upon  this  question,  the  more  it  seems  to  me  that  this  form  is 
that  which  accords  best  with  our  theories  a>  a  whole,  and  pre 
sents  at  once  the  greatest  simplicity  and  the  most  beautiful 
harmony. 

The  old  theology  is  affrighted  at  the  discoveries  of  science  j 
it  persecuted  Galileo,  aad,  if  it  could,  would  again  prevent  the 
soaring  of  the  human  mind  ;  but  true  theology,  far  from  wish 
ing  to  restrain  the  intelligence  of  man, would  rather  encourage 
its  development.  The  more  the  telescope  shall  multiply  worlds 
to  our  eyes,  the  more  the  microscope  shall  expose  to  our  won- 


158  LETTERS    TO   A 

dering  gaze  the  marvellous  structure  of  the  human  body,  the 
more  will  men  be  brought  to  acknowledge  the  sublime  truths 
of  Christianity. 

But  why  do  those  who  cultivate  the  sciences  make  so  little 
progress  in  them,  notwithstanding  their  ardor  in  the  pursuit1? 
Why  are  they  always  groping,  and  incessantly  turning  in  a 
circle,  instead  of  advancing  in  a  straight  line  ?  It  is  because 
they  want  a  fixed  basis  ;  it  is  because  they  have  no  criterium. 
The  learned  may  in  general  be  divided  into  two  classes  ;  in  the 
first  are  those  who  by  means  of  a  system  which  they  have  built 
up  themselves,  or  which  they  have  modified,  claim  to  be  lead 
ers  of  sects  j  these  so  identify  themselves  with  their  system, 
that  it  would  be  like  committing  suicide  to  abandon  it.  The 
second  class  is  that  of  the  more  modest  learned,  who  seek 
truth  and  attach  themselves  to  some  system  in  the  hope  of 
finding  it :  these  would  become  much  more  useful  to  the 
sciences  if  they  studied  Swedenborg,  and  took  his  revelations 
as  their  criterium;  for  whatever  branch  of  human  knowledge 
they  might  explore,  a  vast  field  of  discoveries  would  soon  open 
before  them.  They  would  not,  it  is  true,  acquire  one  of  these 
ephemeral  reputations  which,  in  our  age,  we  have  seen  dissi 
pated  even  during  the  life  time  of  those  who  have  so  laboriously 
sought  after  them  ;  but  what  is  of  far  more  value,  they  would 
contribute  eflectually  to  the  true  progress  of  humanity,  and 
instead  of  attributing  the  least  glory  to  themselves,  they  would 
render  it  all  to  Him  alone  to  whom  it  belongs.  Accept,  &c. 


LETTER   XTI. 

There  is,  my  dear  sir,  in  your  last  letter,  a  passage  which 
has  so  awakened  my  attention,   that  I  consider  it  necessary 


MAN   OF    THE   WORLD.  159 

again  to  suspend  the  course  of  our  exposition,  in  order  to  ex 
amine  with  you  the  difficulty  you  speak  of. 

You  are  struck,  you  say,  with  the  sublimity  of  the  new 
theories  drawn  from  the  writings  of  Swedenborg  j  the  more 
you  meditate  upon  them,  the  more  you  find  them  conformable 
to  sound  reason,  and  the  chain  of  connection  between  them 
tends  still  more  to  increase  your  admiration:  but  when  you 
reflect  that  we  continue,  with  such  rational  theories,  to  call 
ourselves  Christians,  you  are  arrested  by  a  serious  difficulty ; 
it  is  impossible  for  you  to  conceive  how  the  ideas  we  enter 
tain  concerning  God  can  be  reconciled  with  the  doctrines  of 
Christianity. 

This  difficulty  arises  from  several  causes,  but  chiefly  from 
the  following: — 

The  first  is,  that  Christianity  having  for  its  foundation  the 
acknowledgment  of  Jesus  Christ  as  God,  it  has  not  yet  been 
possible  for  you  to  see  how  this  acknowledgment  can  agree 
with  the  philosophical  idea  of  one  only  God,  such  as  has  hith 
erto  been  developed  to  you. 

The  second  is,  that  still  confounding  Christianity  with  the 
different  Christian  sects,  which  all  really  admit  three  Gods, 
though  with  the  lip  they  say  there  is  but  one,  you  are  there 
fore  compelled  to  believe,  that  to  be  a  true  Christian  it  is  neces 
sary,  when  the  question  is  about  dogmas,  to  renounce  entirely 
the  use  of  reason. 

Permit  me  to  tell  you  that  if,  during  the  whole  of  our  dis 
cussion,  I  have  not  yet  once  spoken  to  you  concerning  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  though  I  have  often  repeated  to  you  that  I 
was  a  Christian,  it  was  not  certainly  through  forgetfulness  j 
but  because  the  state  of  your  mind  obliged  me  for  the  time  to 
keep  silence.  I  could  not  speak  to  you  concerning  the  Lord 
without  entering  upon  the  doctrinal  part  of  the  Christian  re 
ligion,  and  of  what  use  would  it  have  been  for  me  to  have 
drawn  your  attention  at  first  to  dogmas  ?  you,  who  are  dispo- 


160  LETTERS   TO    A 

sed  to  believe,  it  is  true,  but  have  since  rejected  all  those  doc 
trines  which  were  taught  to  you  in  your  childhood  7  Would 
I  for  a  single  instant  have  been  able  to  gain  your  attention  ? 
It  was  best  then  to  begin  with  the  philosophical  part  of  Chris 
tianity,  and  this  I  have  done ;  when  you  become  fully  con 
vinced  of  the  important  truths  which  we  have  already  discus 
sed,  and  those  which  remain  to  be  explained,  then  only  will  you 
be  able  to  give  your  attention  to  the  doctrinal  part. 

Nevertheless,  as  it  is  important  to  show  that  our  ideas  con 
cerning  the  Divinity,  are  not  in  the  least  incompatible  with 
true  Christianity,  I  will  speak  to  you  briefly  concerning  the  re 
demption  and  the  Trinity. 

CONCERNING  REDEMPTION.  Man,  created  free  and  rational, 
abused  his  liberty  and  reason;  he  f  .-II :  but  his  fall,  foreseen 
by  God,  was  to  be  succeeded  by  a  restoration;  for  God,  who  is 
love  itself,  could  not  leave  him  in  the  miserable  state  into 
which  his  fall  had  plunged  him.  Now  in  what  manner  was 
this  restoration  to  be  effected  ?  To  replace  man  in  his  primi 
tive  state,  would  not  this  have  been  to  destroy  his  free  will, 
and  consequently  annihilate  him?  for  this  misery,  as  we  may 
be  assured  of  by  the  state  of  things  at  the  present  day,  was 
pleasing  to  man,  and  constituted  even  all  his  life.  Conforming 
to  the  laws  of  his  own  eternal  order,  God  preserved  the  liberty 
of  man,  and  proceeded  to  the  restoration  of  the  human  race. 

You  have  seen,  in  my  ninth  letter,  how  by  his  fall  man  had 
given  birth  to  a  spiritual  organism  altogether  opposite  to  the 
primitive  one,  and  how  this  new  organism  afterwards  acted 
upon  our  world  with  a  force  continually  increasing.  In  the 
struggle  which  thence  arose  between  the  two  spiritual  organ 
isms,  or  between  heaven  and  hell,  the  Divinity  by  his  influx 
was  always  acting,  it  is  true,  to  diminish  the  progress  of  evil 
and  the  false,  preserving  still  the  liberty  of  man;  but  hell 
at  length  became  so  preponderant,  that  spiritual  order  was 
about  to  be  broken,  which  would  have  brought  with  it  the 


MAN   OF    THE  WORLD.  161 

subversion  of  the  universe ;  for  in  consequence  of  this  pre 
ponderance,  the  divine  influx,  transmitted  through  heaven, 
was  no  longer  sufficient  to  maintain  order  and  preserve  the 
creation.  It  was  then  that  God  had  recourse  to  the  great  act 
of  redemption,  which  had  been  foreseen  by  him,  and  for 
which  he  had  provided  from  the  beginning  of  time. 

This  act  consisted  in  reaching  hell,  confining  it  to  its  limits, 
by  combatting  it,  so  to  speak,  hand  to  hand  j  for  it  was  neces 
sary  that  man  should  be  restored  to  spiritual  equilibrium  in 
order  that  he  might  be  ablo,  by  means  of  his  free  will  and  ra 
tionality,  to  re-enter  into  the  way  of  good  and  truth  then  closed 
to  him.  But  how  could  the  Divinity,  being  in  essences  the 
most  pure,  reach  the  enemy  of  men  that  is  in  essences  the 
most  corrupt  ?  Indeed,  you  have  seen  that  God  the  Creator, 
or  Jehovah,  resides  in  the  bosom  of  the  spiritual  sun,  and  that 
the  heat  and  light  of  this  sun  cannot  even  approach  the  angels 
of  the  highest  heaven  without  being  tempered  by  the  spiritual 
atmospheres.  Now  Jehovah,  not  being  able  in  his  spiritual 
sun  to  approach  the  supreme  heaven  without  enkindling  and 
consuming  this  heaven,  it  is  very  evident  that  from  the  bosom 
of  that  sun  he  could  not  reach  the  hells,  which  are  beyond  the 
heavens  and  world  of  spirits.  But  if  Jehovah  could  not  em 
ploy  this  means  without  destroying  the  laws  of  his  divine 
order,  this  order,  nevertheless,  far  from  being  opposed  to  the 
work  of  redemption,  presented  all  that  was  necessarj''  to  eflect 
it. 

You  know  that  God  or  Jehovah  is  VERT  MAN,  and  it  is 
owing  to  this  that  we  his  creatures,  formed  in  his  likeness  and 
image,  are  men,  that  is  to  say,  beings  endowed  with  a  will  and 
understanding,  susceptible  of  receiving  his  love  and  wisdom, 
or  the  good  and  the  true ;  you  know  also,  that  it  is  by  reason 
of  the  form  of  God,  that  everything  in  creation  presents  either 
the  human  form,  or  a  tendency  more  or  less  evident  towards 
that  form.  Now,  if  you  recollect  the  developments  contained 


182  LETTERS   TO   A 

in  my  tenth  letter,  concerning  the  formation  of  man,  and  the 
two  opposite  influences  which  he  receives  from  the  spiritual 
world,  it  will  be  easy  to  acknowledge  that  in  order  to  approach 
the  hells,  combat,  conquer,  and  subdue  them,  and  thus  accom 
plish  the  gr^at  work  of  redemption,  it  was  altogether  confor 
mable  to  the  laws  of  divine  order,  for  Jehovah  to  become  flesh 
and  dwell  among  us. 

Observe  first,  that  Jehovah,  being  life  itself,  resides  wholly, 
in  this  quality,  in  all  creation,  and  in  each  of  its  parts,  for  the 
Divinity  is  indivisible ;  thus  we  say  that  God  is  everywhere. 
So  Jehovah,  who  is  in  the  inmost  of  every  man,  without  this 
residence  preventing  him  from  presiding  over  the  government 
of  the  whole  universe,  could  easily  clothe  himself  with  the  ex 
ternal  of  a  spiritual  body,  without  abandoning  any  of  the  at-- 
tributes  of  Divinity.  Observe  next,  that  in  making  himself 
flesh,  and  descending  thus  into  the  last  degrees  of  the  creation, 
Jehovah,  who,  in  his  spiritual  sun,  could  not  even  approach 
the  heavens  without  consuming  them,  was  able  on  the  con 
trary,  without  producing  the  least  perturbation,  to  reach  the 
deepest  hells;  for  the  struggle  of  the  hells  against  the 
heavens  renewing  itself  every  day  with  man,  Jehovah,  in 
clothing  himself  with  humanity,  placed  himself  upon  the  only 
proper  arena  for  the  combat,  and  where  he  could,  without  de 
ranging  his  work,  struggle  with,  conquer,  and  subdue  the 
enemy. 

As  my  object  here  is  to  give  you  only  a  general  idea  of  Re 
demption,  I  will  not  at  present  treat  on  thi>  important  subject 
of  the  Incarnation  ;  besides  it  would  require  some  preliminary 
ideas  which  can  only  be  explained  in  the  doctrinal  part.  I 
will  merely  say  that  in  Jesus  Christ  the  internal  man  was  Je 
hovah  himself,  while  the  external  man  and  the  material  body 
which  veiled  and  enveloped  Jehovah,  was  from  Mary ;  that 
Jesus  Christ,  whose  internal  man  was  Jehovah,  not  having 
been,  like  other  men,  conceived  of  a  man,  had  not  in  him  the 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  163 

hereditary  evil  with  which  we  are  all  born  •  but  that  his  external 
man  and  material  body,  having  been  produced  in  the  womb  of 
a  woman,  he  had  from  the  mother  hereditary  evil,  evil  which 
with  him, — by  reason  of  the  resistance  of  the  internal  man — 
never  became  actual  evil,  as  he  said  in  these  words.  lt  Which 
of  you  convinceth  me  of  sin  ?"  (John  viii.  46. ).  If  he  had  not 
had  external  hereditary  evil  he  never  could  have  been  temp 
ted,  for  his  internal  man  being  Jehovah,  that  is  to  say,  Good 
itself  and  Truth  itself,  was  not  in  any  manner  susceptible  of 
being  tempted :  thus,  without  this  evil  wrhich  was  in  his  ex 
ternal  man,  he  would  not  have  been  able  either  to  combat 
with  hell,  or  consequently,  to  subdue  it.  By  his  temptations, 
his  struggles,  and  his  spiritual  victories,  he  successively  put  off 
all  that  he  had  from  Mary,  arid  attained  to  the  complete  con 
junction  of  his  external  man  with  his  internal  man  which  he 
calls  the  Father,  thus  making  his  humanity  divine  so  that  if 
Jesus  Christ  was  for  a  time  the  son  of  Mary,  by  reason  of  his 
external,  he  is  no  longer  so,  since  he  rejected  all  that  he  had 
from  her,  and  thus  Jesus  Christ  is  no  other  than  Jehovah  God, 
the  Creator  of  all  that  exists,  now  become  the  Redeemer  of  the 
human  race  by  his  incarnation. 

All  these  truths,  and  many  others  which  concern  the  incar 
nation  will  be  proved  hereafter,  and  I  will  then  enter  upon  all 
the  details  which  you  may  desire.  I  will  here  make  only  one 
observation ;  God  or  Jehovah  is  in  us  all,  as  I  have  already 
told  you,  for  if  he  were  not  in  us,  we  should  not  have  life  ; 
but  he  is  only  in  the  inmost  of  our  being,  and  he  is  not  in  our 
internal  man  which  we  have  from  our  father,  as  we  have  our 
external  man  from  our  mother;  but  the  internal  of  Jesus 
Christ  was  Jehovah  himself.  Thus,  though  Jesus  Christ  had 
his  external  man  and  a  material  body  from  Mary,  he  was  alto 
gether  different  from  any  other  man. 

CONCERNING  THE  TRINITY.  You  already  see  from  what 
precedes,  that  God  the  Father  or  the  Creator,  and  God  the  Son 


164  LETTERS    TO    A 

or  the  Redeemer,  are  one  only  and  the  same  God,  one  only 
and  the  same  person  and  not  two  distinct  persons.  But  the 
Creator  of  men,  in  becoming  their  Redeemer,  became  also 
their  Regenerator  and  Saviour  ,  for  God  by  redemption  did  not 
save  a  single  man  ;  If  he  had  been  able  to  save  one,  he  would 
have  saved  all;  but  he  gave  to  all  the  possibility  of  being 
saved  or  regenerated — a  possibilty  which  no  longer  at  that 
time  existed,  by  reason  of  the  superabundance  and  overflowing 
profligacy  of  the  most  fatal  errors  and  the  most  depraved  pas 
sion. 

Now  regeneration  or  salvation  was  the  consequence  of  re 
demption;  indeed,  before  redemption,  Jehovah,  not  having  yet 
descended  into  the  last  degree  of  creation,  could  not  act  from 
the  bosom  of  his  spiritual  sfln,  but  by  a  mediate  influx,  that  is  to 
say,  by  the  intermediation  of  angels  and  good  spirits;  but  as  soon 
as  he  made  divine  the  assumed  Humanity,  all  power  was  acquir 
ed  to  this  divine  or  to  the  divine  body  of  Jesus  Christ,  whose  soul 
is  Jehovah  himself,  and  it  is  this  Divine  Humanity,  which  from 
this  moment,  governs  the  whole  universe,  as  well  by  the  mediate 
influx  of  the  heavens,  as  by  his  immediate  influx.  From  that 
time  men  could  receive  this  immediate  influx.  He  is  the 
Sanclifier  or  Holy  Spirit,  and  it  is  by  him  that  men  can  be  re 
generated  or  saved,  if  they  consent  to  follow  the  impulses 
which  he  gives  to  them. 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  then  no  other  than  Jehovah-Jesus-Christ 
acting  to  regenerate  men  and  preserve  the  universe.  Thus 
God  the  Father  or  Creator,  God  the  Son  or  Redeemer,  and 
God  the  Holy  Spirit  or  Regenerator,  are  one  and  the  same  God, 
one  and  the  same  person,  and  not  three  distinct  persons. 
Thus  the  divine  Trinity  exists  in  the  unity  of  God,  and  this 
only  ftod  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  his  glorified  humanity ; 
the  soul  of  this  humanity  is  Jehovah  or  the  Father,  his  body 
is  the  Son,  arid  the  incessant  action  which  his  soul  exercises 
by  his  body  to  regenerate  men  and  preserve  the  universe,  is 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  165 

the  Holy  Spirit.  I  can  here  do  no  more  than  announce  these 
high  truths ;  they  will  be  developed  in  the  dogmatical  part  of 
our  discussion,  and  you  will  then  see  that  they  are  in  perfect 
harmony  both  with  the  Scriptures  and  with  human  reason.  I 
regret  to  speak  thus  briefly  upon  a  subject  which,  from  its  na 
ture,  demands  the  greater  elucidation;  but  on  the  other  hand, 
since  I  shall  return  again  to  the  subject,  I.  experience  a  satis 
faction  in  having  presented  to  you  these  few  ideas,  for  I  have 
been  desirous  for  a  long  time  to  speak  to  you  concerning  the 
Lord.  Henceforth,  instead  of  using  exclusively  the  expression 
God,  I  will  from  preference  employ  that  of  Lord,  for  it  is  this 
which  we  generally  make  use  of.  Jehovah  excites  more  partic 
ularly  the  idea  of  God  considered  as  Creator ;  Jesus  Christ  the 
idea  of  God  as  Redeemer,  whilst  the  word  Lord  presents  to  us  the 
idea  of  the  one  God  considered  in  his  three  grand  manifestations 
of  Creator,  Redeemer,  and  Regenerator. 

Thus,  my  dear  sir,  by  this  brief  sketch  you  can  see  that 
our  ideas  respecting  the  Divinity  are  perfectly  reconcilable 
with  Christianity,  and  what  is  more,  that  we  are  the  true 
Christians.  The  word  Christian,  indeed,  is  derived  from 
Christ,  and  no  one  can  properly  be  called  a  Christian  who  does 
not  acknowledge  Jesus  Christ  to  be  God.  Now,  Jesus  Christ 
being  for  us  God  himself,  and  not  the  second  of  three  divine 
persons,  have  we  not  the  right  to  claim  the  name  of  Chris 
tians  in  preference  to  those  who  acknowledge  him  only  as  the 
Son  of  God,  and  worship  him  only  as  a  Mediator  between  God 
and  men,  though  with  the  lips  they  acknowledge  him  as  God1? 

It  is  true,  however,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  a  Mediator  between 
God  and  man,  but  not  as  a  Person  distinct  from  the  Father ; 
he  is  Mediator  in  this  sense,  that  he  is  the  Divine  Body  in 
which  resides  the  Divine  Soul  or  Jehovah.  Now,  as  in  ad 
dressing  a  man,  we  cannot  approach  his  soul,  but  by  the  medi 
ation  of  his  body,  so  we  can  only  approach  Jehovah  by  the 
mediation  of  the  Divine  humanity,  or  glorified  Body  of  Jesus 
8 


166  LETTERS   TO   A 

Christ.  For  this  reason  he  himself  said,  "no  man  cometh 
unto  the  Father  but  by  me,"  (John  xiv.  6,)  and  for  this  also  he 
said,  ;-no  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time,"  (John  i.  18.)  In 
deed,  always  enveloped  with  a  body,  whether  natural  as  in 
this  world,  or  spiritual  as  in  the  other  life,  the  soul  of  man 
always  remains  invisible,  and  only  manifests  itself  by  the  ac 
tion  of  its  body ;  it  is  the  same  with  the  Divine  Soul  or  Je 
hovah  ;  enveloped  now  with  the  humanity  which  Jesus  Christ 
assumed  in  this  world  and  which  he  glorified  or  made  divine, 
it  is  only  manifested  by  the  action  of  this  Divine  Humanity. 
Thus  no  one  has  ever  seen,  or  ever  will  see,  Jehovah  or  the 
Father ;  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  heavens  see  the  Divine 
humanity  or  Jesus  Christ,  whose  soul  is  Jehovah  himself, 
when  ver  it  pleases  the  Lord  to  manifest  himself  to  them ;  and 
further,  they  continually  enjoy  the  presence  of  his  spiritual 
sun  which  vivifies  them  by  its  heat  and  light.  But  it  is  not 
thus  that  Christians  of  the  old  church  conceive  of  the  media 
tion,  since  they  represent  to  themselves  the  Mediator  as  a 
person  distinct  from  God  the  Father. 

Why  do  we  see  at  this  day  so  few  Christians  '?  for  to  be 
really  a  Christian,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  have  received  baptism, 
nor  even  to  follow  certain  religious  practices  j  it  is  absolutely 
necessary,  not  only  to  acknowledge  from  the  heart,  as  I  have 
said,  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  to  live  according  to  the 
precepts  which  he  has  given  us  j  why,  I  say,  do  we  see  at  this 
day  so  few  Christians  ?  It  is  because  the  theologians  of  the  old 
church  persist  in  maintaining  that  there  are  three  divine  per 
sons,  and  because  it  is  difficult  to  persuade  men  at  this  day 
that  three  Gods  make  but  one.  Besides,  how  could  the  clergy 
of  the  various  Christian  sects  convince  their  auditors,  and  con 
vince  themselves,  that  Jesus  Christ,  risen  again,  according  to 
the  Evangelists,  with  the  body  which  was  laid  in  the  sepul 
chre,  is  but  one  with  God  the  Father,  whom  they  consider  as 
a  pure  Spirit,  that  is  to  say,  as  a  Being  without  substance  and 


MAN   OF   THE    WORLD.  167 

form,  though  they  make  of  him,  nevertheless,  a  real  person 
distinct  from  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  And  do  they  know 
even  where  to  place  the  body  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  that 
world  which  also,  in  their  idea,  being  without  substance  and 
form,  can  consist  of  nothing  but  a  kind  of  vacuum  or  empti 
ness'?  But  these  difficulties,  which  prevent  our  contempora 
ries  from  being  Christians,  completely  disappear  when  it  is 
known  that  the  Creator  of  the  universe  is  himself  VERY  MAN, 
and  that  all  creation  tends  to  the  human  form,  and  above  all 
when  the  relations  as  simple  as  they  are  admirable  are  known, 
which  bind  the  universe  to  man,  and  man  to  his  divine 
original. 

This  is  a  long  digression,  but  the  subject  is  so  important, 
that  you  will  excuse  me  for  having  interrupted  the  course  of 
our  discussion  to  answer  a  simple  observation  which  you  had 
made. 

Let  us  resume  our  exposition  of  the  spiritual  world,  and 
enter  upon  matters  of  detail. 

If  we  see  so  many  unbelievers,  if  even  the  man  who  so  loudly 
proclaims  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  feels  his  faith  waver 
when  .he  seriously  fixes  his  thought  upon  the  passage  from 
this  life  into  the  other,  is  it  not  because  it  is  impossible  for 
him  to  form  a  clear  idea  of  this  passage,  after  all  the  incohe 
rent  vagaries  put  forth  by  theologians  and  philosophers  upon 
the  soul  and  its  mode  of  existence  ?  Not  knowing  in  an  exact 
manner  what  the  soul  is,  nor  in  what  part  of  the  body  it  re 
sides,  is  he  not  compelled  either  to  consider  it  as  a  breath,  that 
disengaged  from  its  prison  wanders  in  a  vacuum,  which  is  re 
pugnant  to  his  reason,  or  to  regard  it  as  one  of  those  impon 
derable  fluids  which,  being  set  free,  unites  with  its  common 
reservoir,  which  is  repugnant  to  his  conscience  ?  This,  how 
ever,  is  the  desolating  alternative  to  which  a  reflecting  man  is 
reduced  when  he  has  nothing  for  a  guide  but  the  data  of  the 
old  theology  or  those  of  the  philosophy  of  the  day.  But  it  is 


168  LETTERS   TO    A 

altogether  different  when  he  has  a  precise  idea  of  the  soul, 
and  of  the  world  in  which  it  is  perpetually  to  reside ;  then,  to 
comprehend  how  his  passage  from  this  life  to  another  is  effect 
ed,  it  is  sufficient  to  have  present  in  his  mind  the  truths  which 
I  have  previously  set  forth,  and  which  it  is  important  here  to 
repeat  j 

(1.)  The  soul  or  spirit  of  man  is  a  real  being,  having  a  spir 
itual  body,  endowed  with  all  the  organs  constituting  the  ma 
terial  body  with  which  it  is  clothed. 

(2.)  The  spiritual  world  is  a  real  organism,  having  objects 
analogous  to  those  which  we  see  in  ours ;  it  has  its  earths, 
seas,  atmospheres,  a  celestial  vault,  which  like  ours  is  a  result 
of  the  conformation  of  the  eye  j  it  has,  in  fine,  its  three  king 
doms—animals,  vegetables,  minerals ;  but  nevertheless,  there 
exists  between  the  two  worlds  this  difference,  that  in  the  one, 
all  the  objects  are  of  a  spiritual  nature,  while  in  the  other,  they 
are  all  of  a  material  nature. 

(3.)  The  spiritual  world,  being  independent  of  space,  is  not 
a  place  ;  it  is  a  state  of  the  soul  or  spirit.  Thus  it  cannot  be 
said  that  it  is  above  or  below;  above  the  skies  or  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth  j  here  or  there  ;  but  it  is  in  man  himself — 
every  one  has  actually  in  himself  his  heaven  or  his  hell. 

(4.)  Though  independent  of  space  and  time,  accidents  which 
are  inherent  in  matter  alone,  the  spiritual  world  presents  still 
appearances  of  them,  appearances  which  result  from  interior 
states  in  which  those  who  inhabit  it  are  successively 
placed. 

Now,  we  have  seen  in  the  sixth  letter,  that  there  are  in 
man  as  many  receptacles  having  the  human  form  as  there 
exist  general  divisions  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  that  these 
receptacles  are  opened  or  remain  closed,  according  to  the 
manner  in  which  man  has  lived  in  the  natural  world.  You 
have  seen  also,  in  the  ninth  letter,  that  each  general  division 
of  the  spiritual  world,  though  it  be  within  us,  is  nevertheless 


MAN  OF   THE  WORLD.  169 

manifested  without  us,  when  after  our  death  the  receptacle 
which  it  has  in  our  soul  or  spirit  is  opened. 

When  therefore  man  is  stripped  of  his  mortal  covering,  he 
has  no  need  of  being  conveyed  from  one  place  to  another,  or 
of  making  the  least  progression ;  he  finds  himself,  with  the 
same  affections  and  the  same  thoughts,  upon  a  spiritual  earth, 
and  precisely  upon  that  which  belongs  to  the  general  division 
whose  receptacle  is  opened  in  him. 

But  as  the  heavenly  receptacles  are  not  completely  opened 
in  man,  unless  he  has  neither  bad  affections  nor  false  thoughts, 
and  as  the  infernal  receptacles  in  like  manner  are  not  com 
pletely  opened  in  him,  until  he  has  rejected  all  good  affections 
and  all  true  thoughts,  it  results  that  the  greater  part  of  men, 
in  leaving  our  earth,  find  themselves  without  conveyance  or 
transit,  upon  an  earth  of  the  world  of  spirits,  or  intermediate 
world,  where  they  remain  a  longer  or  shorter  time,  before  they 
go  definitively  either  into  the  heavens  or  the  hells. 

Thus  the  passage  of  man  from  this  world  into  the  other  con 
sists  simply,  without  conveyance  or  transit,  in  the  emancipation 
of  the  man-spirit  by  the  loosening  of  the  bonds  which  con 
fined  him  to  our  earth,  which  is  effected  as  soon  as  the  systolic 
and  diastolic  motions  of  the  material  heart  have  ceased  for 
ever.  Then  the  material  part  of  man  is  nothing  but  dead  mat 
ter  ;  hut  the  man,  as  to  all  that  constitutes  hirn*  a  man,  lives, 
and  his  senses  no  longer  imprisoned  in  matter  acquire  proper 
ties  much  more  exquisite.  It  is  the  same  with  his  two  con 
stitutive  faculties,  will  and  understanding ;  they  ihen  mani 
fest  themselves  in  a  higher  degree  of  strength  and  activity. 

The  passage  from  this  world  into  the  other  is  besides  so 
much  the  easier  to  conceive  of,  as  man  during  his  life  upon 
our  earth  is  himself,  without  knowing  it,  in  the  spiritual  world. 
He  is  actually  there,  since  his  affections  and  thoughts  which 
cause  him  to  be  man,  and  which  certainly  are  not  matter,  be 
long  only  to  the  spiritual  world :  but  he  does  not  see  that 


170  LETTERS    TO    A 

world,  and  knows  nothing  of  that  which  is  passing  around  his 
man-spirit,  because  his  spiritual  eyes,  as  well  as  his  other 
spiritual  senses,  being  covered  with  matter,  are  then  only  used 
for  that  which  concerns  his  existence  upon  our  earth.  But  as 
soon  as  man  is  disengaged  from  his  mortal  envelope,  his  senses 
being  no  longer  confined  in  an  obscure  prison,  and  entering 
upon  their  full  exercise,  it  is  not  then  surprising  that  he 
now  sees  the  part  of  the  spiritual  world  in  which  he  had  been 
already,  though  unknown  to  him  in  his  natural  life,  and  that 
he  is  then  conscious  of  all  that  passes  about  him. 

Since  the  greater  part  of  those  who  go  from  our  globe  pass 
into  the  world  of  spirits,  we  will  first  turn  our  attention  to  the 
part  of  that  world  corresponding  to  our  earth;  but  before  en 
tering  into  details  it  is  necessary  to  give  you  an  exact  idea 
of  the  nature  of  the  objects  of  which  the  intermediate  world 
is  composed. 

The  intermediate  world,  being  a  mixed  spiritual  organism, 
presents  a  mixture  of  good  and  evil,  of  the  beautiful  and  de 
formed  ;  and  in  this  respect,  as  in  many  others,  bears  a  strong 
relation  to  our  material  world.  There  exists  even  between 
them,  at  first  sight,  so  great  a  resemblance  that  many  of  those 
who  enter  into  the  world  of  spirits,  believe  themselves  yet  to 
be  in  ours,  and  do  not  perceive  their  error  until  they  meet 
there  those  who  have  died  before  them  ;  and  see  none  of  those 
whom  they  left  upon  our  earth.  As  to  the  objects  of  which  this 
intermediate  world  is  composed,  they  have  their  origin  in  two 
opposite  sources.  All  that  is  good  and  beautiful  comes  from 
the  heavens,  and  has  its  origin  from  the  love  and  wisdom  of 
God  j  all  that  is  evil  and  hideous  comes  from  the  hells,  and  has 
its  origin  in  hatred  and  folly,  or  the  evil  and  the  false  which 
the  fall  of  man  has  produced. 

You  have  seen  in  fact  that  the  divine  Love,  the  source  of  all 
good  affections,  is  the  first  substance  whence  proceed  all 
substances  which  are  good,  and  the  divine  Wisdom  the  source  of 


MAN   OF    THE 

all  true  thoughts,  is  the  first  or  original  form  (Forme-Type), 
whence  proceed  all  the  beautiful  forms  in  'which  these  sub 
stances  are  clothed.  You  have  seen  also,  that  since  the  fall  of 
man,  all  the  affections  of  his  selfish  will  were  bad  spiritual 
substances,  and  all  the  thoughts  of  his  perverted  understanding 
were  unsightly  spiritual  forms  with  which  the  bad  substances 
were  clothed. 

Thus,  every  affection  being  a  spiritual  substance,  and  every 
thought  a  spiritual  form,  the  mixture  of  good  and  bad  sub 
stances  and  of  beautiful  and  hideous  forms  which  the  objects 
of  the  intermediate  world  in  general  present,  is  the  effect  pro 
duced  by  the  state  of  its  inhabitants,  whose  interiors  are  a 
mixture  of  good  and  bad  affections,  of  true  and  false  thoughts. 

Besides,  as  the  intermediate  world,  the  same  as  every  gen 
eral  division  of  the  spiritual,  is  an  exterior  manifestation  of 
that  which  is  included  in  the  man-spirit,  it  must  present,  in  all 
its  parts,  objects  whose  substances  are  affections,  and  whose 
forms  are  the  thoughts  of  those  who  inhabit  it.  If  the  objects 
are  presented  there  in  number  indefinite,  and  are  indefinitely 
varied,  it  is  because  the  affections  and  thoughts  themselves  of 
spirits  present  varieties  whose  number  is  unlimited. 

I  have  already  often  repeated  to  you  that  the  spiritual 
world,  such  as  it  is  presented  to  the  sight  of  spirits  and  angels, 
is  an  exterior  manifestation  of  that  which  is  in  their  interiors. 
A  consequence  which,  at  first  sight,  would  seem  to  flow  from 
this  principle  is,  that  each  man-spirit  would  see  only  objects 
which  represent  his  affections  and  thoughts,  and  therefore, 
would  live  altogether  isolated  from  other  men-spirits.  Now, 
if  spirits  did  not  live  in  society  like  men  in  our  world,  if  they 
were  prevented  from  communicating  their  affections  and 
thoughts  to  others,  however  beautiful  and  delightful  might  be 
the  theatre  upon  which  they  live,  their  existence  would  be  the 
most  sad  that  can  be  imagined,  and  would  soon  become  insup 
portable.  It  is  then  important  to  prove  that  in  the  interme- 


172  LETTERS    TO    A 

diate  world  spirits  live  in  societies  like  men  in  our  world,  and 
that  thus  the  consequence  which  seems  to  result  from  the  prin 
ciple  above  stated  is  but  specious;  but  to  arrive  at  this  proof, 
I  shall  be  obliged  to  give  you  some  general  ideas  relative  to 
correspondences.  This  again  is  a  digression  which  it  is  ne 
cessary  for  me  to  add  to  many  others  already  made-  I  hope, 
however,  that  you  will  continue  to  be  as  indulgent  towards 
this  as  towards  the  preceding.  I  will  first  speak  of  the  cor 
respondences  which  exist  between  the  spiritual  world  and 
ours. 

The  spiritual  world  and  the  natural  world  being  related  to 
each  other  like  the  interior  and  exterior,  it  results  from  this 
that  spiritual  things  and  natural  things  make  one  by  Influx, 
and  that  there  is  Correspondence  between  them.  This  is  the 
principle ;  but  what  are  we  to  understand  by  this  Correspon 
dence  and  this  Influx  ?  Some  examples  to  which  I  am  about  to 
have  recourse  will  enable  you  easily  to  comprehend  it. 

It  is  evident  that  the  variations  of  man's  face,  or  the  different 
expressions  of  his  countenance,  correspond  to  the  different 
states  of  the  affections  of  his  soul,  for  the  expression  of  the 
countenance  varies  according  to  the  state  of  the  affections. 
These  variations,  which  are  natural  effects,  we  call  Corres 
pondences  of  the  affections  which  are  the  spiritual  cause?  of 
them,  and  we  say  that  the  face  itself  is  the  Correspondence  of 
the  interiors  of  the  soul.  But,  in  order  that  these  correspon 
dences  may  manifest  themselves,  it  is  necessary  that  the  soul 
should  act ;  this  action  of  the  soul  is  what  we  call  the  influx 
of  the  spiritual  principle  into  the  natural.  [See  Apocalypse  Ex 
plained,  number  1080.] 

It  is  in  like  manner  evident  that  the  understanding  of  man, 
or  the  sight  of  his  thought  corresponds  to  the  sight  of  his 
eyes,  for  the  light  and  flame  which  shine  in  his  eyes  man 
ifest  the  thought  which  his  understanding  produces ;  the 
sight  of  the  eye  is  the  Correspondence  as  well  as  the  eye 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  173 

itself,  and  the  action  of  the  understanding  upon  the  eye 
is  Influx. 

So  also,  the  active  thought  which  depends  on  the  under 
standing  corresponds  to  the  language  which  depends  on  the 
mouth  and  its  accessories ;  language  is  the  Correspondence  as 
well  as  the  mouth  and  the  organs  which  serve  to  produce  lan 
guage,  and  the  action  of  the  thought  in  language  and  in  the 
organs  of  language  is  Influx.  Lastly,  the  action  of  the  body 
corresponds  to  the  will ;  that  of  the  heart  to  the  life  of  love  ; 
that  of  the  lungs,  which  is  called  respiration,  to  the  life  of 
faith  ;  and  the  whole  body,  as  to  all  its  members,  viscera  and 
organs,  corresponds  to  the  soul,  as  to  all  its  functions  and  all 
the  forces  of  its  life. 

By  these  few  examples  you  can  see  that  the  spiritual  and 
the  natural  make  one  by  Correspondences,  as  the  interior  and 
the  posterior,  or  as  the  efficient  cause  and  the  effect ;  or  again 
as  the  cause  principal  which  belongs  to  the  thought  and  will 
of  man,  and  the  cause  instrumental  which  belongs  to  his  lan 
guage  and  action. 

I  have  taken  these  examples  from  what  passes  in  man,  that 
you  may  easily  comprehend  what  we  are  to  understand  by 
Correspondence,  and  the  Influx  which  manifests  it;  but  the 
correspondence  of  the  natural  and  spiritual  is  general ;  it  not 
only  has  place  in  all  that  which  constitutes  man,  but  it  also 
exists  in  all  that  constitutes  the  universe,  and  is  a  result  of  the 
influx  of  the  spiritual  universe  into  the  natural.  Moreover,  it 
is  a  consequence  of  the  principles  which  I  have  previously  ex 
plained,  and  which  you  have  admitted.  Every  natural  object 
including  in  it  an  analogous  spiritual  object,  the  spiritual  is 
always  in  activity,  and  its  action  being  the  influx  of  which  we 
are  now  speaking,  it  results  that  all  the  objects  of  the  natural 
universe  are  Correspondences. 

The  knowledge  of  these  Correspondences  constituted  in 
ancient  times  a  science  j  it  was  even  the  science  of  sciences, 


174  LETTERS    TO   A 

for  it  was  the  key  to  all  knowledges ;  but  it  was  gradually  cor 
rupted  by  men,  arid  at  last  entirely  lost.  From  this  corrup 
tion  arose  the  symbols  of  the  eastern  nations,  of  the  hieroglyph 
ics  of  the  Egyptians,  and  all  the  mythologies.  This  science 
is  at  length  restored  to  the  world,  and  may  now  be  studied  in 
the  writings  of  Swedenborg.  When  hereafter  we  shall  exam 
ine  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  you  will  be  easily  convinced 
that  the  sacred  Scriptures  are  filled  with  correspondences,  and 
that  this  science  of  sciences  dispels  all  the  apparent  contradic 
tions  which  have  led  our  contemporaries  to  doubt  their  holiness, 
and  even  to  deny  it. 

As  there  is  correspondence  between  all  things  of  the  natural 
universe  and  all  those  of  the  spiritual,  and  the  spirit  of  man 
being  a  little  spiritual  universe,  it  results  that  there  is  also  a 
correspondence  between  all  the  objects  of  the  natural  world, 
and  all  the  thoughts  and  the  affections  of  man,  for  it  is  his  af 
fections  and  thoughts  which  constitute  his  spirit.  I  cannot 
give  you  now  the  nomenclature  of  all  these  correspondences  j 
this  would  not  be  the  place ;  but  it  is  indispensable  to  the  un 
derstanding  of  what  follows  to  present  you  at  first  with  some 
of  them. 

The  earth  in  general  corresponds  to  man ;  its  different  pro 
ductions,  which  serve  for  the  nourishment  of  men,  correspond 
to  different  kinds  of  goods  and  truths,  the  solid  aliments  to 
various  kinds  of  goods,  and  the  liquid  to  various  kinds  of 
truths. 

A  house  corresponds  to  the  will  and  the  understanding, 
which  constitute  the  human  mind ;  by  house,  we  have  to  un 
derstand  all  that  serves  for  lodging  or  retreat,  the  palace  as 
well  as  the  hut. 

Garments  correspond  to  truths  or  falses  according  to  the 
substance,  color,  and  form  which  they  present. 

Animals  correspond  to  the  affections;  those  which  are  use 
ful  and  gentle,  to  good  affections ;  those  which  are  hurtful  and 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  175 

bad,  to  evil  affections :  gentle  and  beautiful  birds  to  intellectual 
truths ;  those  which  are  ferocious  and  ugly  to  falses ;  fishes  to 
the  scientific^  which  derive  their  origin  from  things  sensual  j 
reptiles  to  corporeal  and  sensual  pleasures  j  and  noxious  insects 
to  falsities  which  proceed  from  the  senses. 

Trees  and  shrubs  correspond  to  different  kinds  of  know 
ledges  ;  and  herbs  and  grass  correspond  to  various  kinds  of 
scientific  truths. 

Gold  corresponds  to  celestial  good,  silver  to  spiritual  truth, 
brass  to  natural  good  •  iron  to  natural  truth,  stones  to  sensual 
truths,  precious  stones  to  spiritual  truths.  With  these  few 
correspondences  you  will  easily  be  able  to  follow  the  discussion. 

All  that  I  have  just  said  concerning  the  correspondences 
which  ejdst  between  the  spiritual  and  natural  worlds,  is  appli 
cable  in  general  to  the  correspondences  which  the  great  divi 
sions  of  the  spiritual  world  have  between  them ;  for  from  the 
lowest  degrees  of  creation  up  to  the  spiritual  sun  everything 
lives,  everything  is  conjoined  by  influx  which  produces  corres 
pondences.  Thus,  the  intermediate  world,  of  which  we  are 
now  treating,  being  placed  between  the  first  heaven  and  the 
first  hell,  receives  an  influx  from  both,  and  consequently  is  in 
correspondence  with  both.  Nevertheless,  between  this  corres 
pondence  and  that  of  which  I  have  just  spoken  to  you,  there 
is  an  important  difference  to  be  observed,  namely :  that  here 
below  the  objects  which  surround  man  being  natural,  and  con 
sequently  subject  to  the  laws  of  space  and  time,  are  not  de 
pendent  upon  changes  which  are  effected  in  his  spirit,  while 
in  the  intermediate  world,  the  objects  which  surround  spirits, 
being  of  a  spiritual  nature,  depend  upon  the  states  of  these 
spirits,  and  vary  according  as  these  states  change.  As  the  ob 
jects  in  the  intermediate  world  are  the  very  representations  of 
the  affections  and  thoughts  of  spirits,  correspondences  are 
manifested  there  clearly  to  the  sight,  and  then  they  are  called 
representatives. 


176  LETTERS   TO   A 

By  means  of  these  ideas  concerning  correspondences,  I  am 
now  able  to  prove  to  you  that  in  the  intermediate  world, 
spirits  live  in  societies  as  in  our  world,  and  thus  that  the  con 
sequence  which  appeared  to  result  from  the  principle  above 
advanced  is  but  specious. 

Let  us  first  take  spirits  separately  ;  each  one  of  them  accor 
ding  to  this  principle,  having  for  the  theatre  of  his  existence 
the  exterior  manifestation  of  his  affections  and  thoughts,  and 
no  one  spirit  resembling  another,  it  results,  it  is  true,  that  there 
exists  as  many  individual  representative  theatres,  or  different 
little  intermediate  worlds  as  there  exist  spirits;  but  we  shall 
presently  see  that  all  these  individual  theatres  or  little  worlds 
make  in  fact  but  one. 

It  is  evident  that  the  intermediate  world  of  a  Chinese  or  of 
a  Hottentot  must  differ  much  from  the  intermediate  world  of  an 
European,  since  the  affections  and  thoughts  of  the  one  have 
but  little  affinity  with  the  affections  and  thoughts  of  the  other  : 
you  will  also  agree  that  the  intermediate  worlds  of  two  Chi 
nese,  or  of  two  Hottentots,  or  of  two  Europeans  must  differ  much 
less;  observe  however,  that  the  question  here  is  only  concerning 
external  effections  and  thoughts,  such  as  are  those  of  spirits; 
for  as  regards  internal  affections  and  thoughts  which  are  man 
ifested  later,  those  of  a  Chinese  and  European  may  even  have 
a  closer  relation  between  them  than  those  of  two  brothers. 
You  will  again  agree  that  the  intermediate  worlds  of  two 
Frenchmen  must  differ  less  than  those  of  a  Frenchman  and  an 
Englishman,  these  of  two  Parisians  less  than  those  of  a  Paris 
ian  and  a  countryman,  and  those  of  two  lawyers  less  than 
those  of  a  lawyer  and  a  merchant. 

But  before  extending  further  the  inquiry  into  the  resem 
blances  which  these  little  intermediate  worlds  mnst  present, 
let  us  first  see  what,  according  to  the  science  of  correspon 
dences,  is  in  general  the  intermediate  world  of  a  spirit.  As  a 
spirit  is  really  a  man,  and  the  earth  is  the  correspondence  of 


MAN  OF   THE  WORLD.  177 

man.  this  spirit  finds  himself  upon  an  earth  j  as  he  has  a  will 
and  an  understanding,  he  dwells  in  a  house  •  as  he  is  imbued 
with  truths  and  falses,  he  has  garments ;  but  the  nature  of  this 
earth;  as  to  its  fertility  and  aspect,  depends  upon  the  general 
state  of  this  spirit ;  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  house  are 
in  relation  to  the  state  of  his  will  and  understanding;  the  sub 
stance,  the  color,  and  the  form  of  his  garments  depend  upon 
the  mixture  of  his  truths  and  falses.  Lastly,  as  this  spirit  pos 
sesses  affections  and  thoughts,  and  a  multitude  of  things  which 
are  the  consequences  of  them,  he  sees  in  his  horizon  and  around 
him  objects  of  the  three  kingdoms,  and  products  of  industry  ; 
but  the  nature  of  these  objects  and  these  products  depends 
upon  the  state  of  his  affections  and  thoughts. 

The  representative  theatre  of  the  state  of  this  spirit  cannot  re 
semble  in  an  absolute  manner  that  of  any  other  spirit,  for  in  the 
whole  universe  of  beings,  there  are  no  two  that  completely  re 
semble  each  other;  nevertheless,  diversity  in  unity  being  a 
general  law  of  creation,  everything  tends  to  unity ;  to  attain 
thif^  everything  is  arranged  into  groups,  and  it  is  by  means  of 
harmonious  relations  that  the  different  groups  are  formed. 
Now,  if  there  are  not  two  men,  nor  consequently  two  spirits, 
who  resemble  each  other  in  an  absolute  manner,  at  least  there 
exist,  in  a  greater  or  less  number,  those  whose  affections  and 
thoughts  present  among  them  many  resemblances,  and  have3 
so  to  speak,  a  kind  of  neighborhood.  The  representative 
theatres  of  the  states  of  these  spirits  having  consequently  an 
alogous  relations  between  them,  find  themselves,  so  to  speak, 
neighbors  one  of  another,  or  to  express  it  more  exactly,  they 
constitute  one  country  of  the  intermediate  world,  which  is 
common  to  them,  and  are  only  distinguished  from  one  another 
by  slight  differences,  and  by  the  particular  habitation  of  each 
spirit :  and  these  habitations  exist  more  or  less  near  to  one 
another,  according  as  the  affections  and  thoughts  of  spirits 
have  more  or  less  similitude  between  them.  Thence  result 


178  LETTERS   TO   A 

united  masses  of  which  the  villages,  towns,  and  cities  of  greater 
or  lees  extent  are  composed,  which  are  spread  over  the  earth 
of  our  intermediate  -world. 

You  can  easily  conceive  from  this,  how  the  millions  of  rep 
resentative  theatres  or  little  individual  worlds  concur  in  form 
ing  a  whole.  There  is  actually  but  one  only  intermediate 
world  for  all  the  spirits  who  depart  from  our  globe  j  but  there 
exist  millions  of  different  horizons ;  in  the  same  country  the 
horizon  of  one  is  never  completely  like  that  of  another,  and 
the  horizon  of  each  spirit  varies  even  at  every  instant  accord 
ing  to  the  mobility  of  the  state  of  his  affections  and  thoughts. 
Ah  !  do  we  not  see  something  analogous  in  our  world,  in  both 
a  physical  and  moral  respect  ?  In  the  physical,  are  not  the 
horizons  in  number  indefinite,  and  does  not  a  man  change  his 
horizon  at  every  change  of  place  ?  And  in  the  moral,  in  the 
domain  of  affection  and  thought,  is  the  horizon  of  one  ever 
like  that  of  another  ?  Does  not  the  horizon  of  the  same  man 
change  at  every  instant  ? 

But  there  are  also  spirits  whose  affections  and  thoughts  pre 
sent  more  intimate  relations,  and  have  a  kind  of  kindred  and 
family,  so  that  there  is  with  them  so  to  speak,  the  same  will 
and  the  same  understanding}  the  representative  theatres  of 
the  state  of  these  spirits  present  not  only  a  country  which  is 
common  to  them,  but  also  one  and  the  same  edifice  for  a  hab 
itation  j  and  under  this  relation  these  theatres  are  distinguish 
ed  only  by  particular  parts  of  the  same  house  ;  or  only  by 
other  details  of  the  interior  of  this  house.  It  is  thus  that  fam 
ilies  are  formed  in  the  world  of  spirits ;  they  are  the  result  of 
a  more  intimate  conformity  in  affections  and  thoughts. 

If  to  all  that  precedes  you  add,  that  in  th°  spiritual  world 
there  must  necessarily  be.  as  in  this,  and  even  in  a  much  high 
er  degree,  communication  of  affections  and  thoughts  between 
those  who  have  some  relations  between  them,  it  will  be  easy 
for  you  to  comprehend  that  spirits  of  the  same  country  see  one 


MAN   OF    THE    WORLD.  179 

another,  and  see  also  the  exterior  of  their  neighbor's  house, 
and  penetrate  even  into  the  interior  of  those  houses,  or  visit 
those  who  inhabit  them,  when  for  the  time  they  have  with 
them  the  same  will  and  the  same  understanding. 

Observe,  moreover,  that  if,  in  this  natural  world,  our  affec 
tions  and  thoughts  are  not  exclusively  fixed  upon  things,  but 
are  also  determined  to  persons,  it  must  be  the  same  in  the  in 
termediate  world.  There,  when  the  affections  and  thoughts 
are  fixed  upon  religious,  moral,  political,  or  civil  matters,  they 
are  manifested  visibly  by  spiritual  objects  which  are  the  cor 
respondences  of  them  ]  but  when  they  are  fixed  upon  other 
spirits,  they  are  immediately  present,  though  their  proper  habita 
tion  maybe  in  the  most  remote  part  of  the  intermediate  world. 
And  this  is  easily  conceived,  since  affection  and  thought 
know  no  distance.  Have  you  an  intimate  friend  beyond  the 
seas,  at  Philadelphia,  for  example  "?  If  you  think  of  him,  you 
see  him,  you  speak  to  him  j  and  if  he  does  not  hear  you,  if  he 
does  not  answer  your  questions,  it  is  only  because  you  are 
both  in  a  material  world,  and  space  and  time  oppose  your 
communication  of  ideas ;  but  abstract  matter,  put  away  space 
and  time,  and  you  are  in  the  presence  of  your  friend  j  he  then 
hears  you  and  you  enter  into  conversation.  It  is  thus  that  it 
should  be.  and  really  is,  in  the  intermediate  world,  since  space 
and  time  are  there  replaced  by  states  of  affection  and  thought, 
states  which  are  manifested  only  in  an  appearence  of  space 
and  time. 

You  see  from  this,  that  spirits  do  not  live  separately  but  in 
society,  although  the  intermediate  world  is  for  every  spirit 
the  exterior  manifestation  of  what  is  contained  in  him.  The 
affections  and  thoughts  are  what  every  spirit  has  within  him, 
and  these  are  a  consequence  of  those  which  he  had  in  our 
world  ;  the  latter  are  never  entirely  effaced,  but  are  only  re- 
moved  from  his  memory,  so  that  occasionally  they  are  repro 
duced.  The  life  of  man  is  not  interrupted  by  his  passage  from 


180 


LETTERS   TO    A 


this  world  into  another :  it  is  continued,  and  his  memory  then 
is  in  all  its  vigor ;  for  there  is  not  a  single  action  of  his  life, 
nor  a  single  idea,  which  may  not  be  recalled.  If  man,  after 
becoming  a  spirit,  had  no  recollection  of  his  life  in  the  world, 
he  would  be  deprived  of  his  individuality,  and  consequently 
of  immortality,  because  it  would  not  be  he  who  would  exist ; 
it  would  be  really  another  being  in  his  place. 

The  ordinary  residence  of  the  man-spirit  being  the  corres 
pondence  of  the  habitual  state  of  his  will  and  understanding,  so 
long  as  this  state  is  not  entirely  changed,  the  man-spirit  pre 
serves  the  same  residence,  without  being  forced  to  remain 
continually  in  his  house  or  city  •  for  certain  affections  and 
thoughts  may  lead  him  to  travel  over  the  different  countries  of 
our  intermediate  world,  and  even  to  visit  the  earths  of  the  in 
termediate  world  which  correspond  to  the  other  planets  of  the 
natural  world,  without  the  habitual  state  of  his  will  and  under 
standing  being  remarkably  altered  ;  but  if  this  state  is  entirely 
changed,  he  himself  changes  his  abode. 

Changes  of  residence  are  very  frequent  in  the  intermediate 
world ;  for  man  only  goes  into  this  world  to  be  prepared  there 
by  successive  transitions,  either  for  the  heavenly  or  infernal 
life.  He  is  tfien  obliged  to  pass  through  many  states,  and  con 
sequently  often  changes  his  abode,  before  repairing  to  his  place, 
whether  in  heaven  or  hell. 

The  future  life  of  man  depends  entirely  upon  that  which  he 
has  formed  for  himself  upon  our  earth ;  if  during  this  life  his 
will  had  been  bad,  it  is  no  longer  possible  for  him  to  make  it 
good,  and  his  understanding,  at  the  same  time  enlightened  by 
truth,  will  lose  its  light  or  its  truth,  in  the  intermediate  world ; 
on  the  other  hand,  if  his  will  had  been  good,  it  is  in  no  danger 
of  becoming  bad,  and  his  understanding  will  exchange  any 
false  opinions  it  may  have  for  truths.  I  will  return  to  this 
subject  at  another  time. 

Thus,  all  depends  upon  the  will  which  man  has  made  for 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  181 

himself  in  the  natural  world,  or,  in  other  words,  all  depends 
upon  his  ruling  love.  The  will  or  ruling  love  of  man  is  the 
man  himself;  his  understanding  is  but  a  servant  at  the  dispo 
sition  of  his  will.  All  that  appertains  to  the  will  is  a  spiritual 
substance,  and  all  that  belongsto  the  understanding  is  a  spiritu 
al  form  ;  so  far  then  as  the  substance  excels  the  form,  so  far 
the  will  governs  the  understanding. 

Nevertheless,  as  the  life  of  man  is  not  interrupted  by  his 
passage  from  this  world  into  another,  the  situations  of  those 
who  arrive  in  the  intermediate  world  is  generally,  at  first,  very 
similar  to  that  which  they  had  upon  our  earth  j  but  this  is  not 
of  long  duration,  for  the  scene  soon  changes.  Every  spirit 
being  directed  by  his  ruling  love,  if  this  love  is  good,  since  it 
rules  overall  the  other  affections,  it  successively  removes  those 
which  are  bad,  and  favors  those  which  are  good  ;  then  the  in 
terior  state  of  the  spirits  continually  improves,  and  his  exteri 
or  situation  becomes  more  beautiful,  by  means  of  delightful  rep 
resentatives,  which  are  the  correspondences  of  his  interior 
state.  But  if  the  ruling  love  is  bad,  it  successively  removes 
the  good  affections  and  favors  the  bad  ;  then  the  interior  state  of 
the  spirit  continually  becomes  worse,  and  his  exterior  situa 
tion  becomes  more  and  more  miserable,  by  means  of  hideous 
representatives,  which  are  the  correspondences  of  his  interior 
state. 

I  will  continue  the  description  of  the  w^orld  of  spirits  in  the 
following  letter;  but  I  cannot  conclude  this  without  present 
ing  to  you  some  reflections. 

The  imminent  peril  which  social  order  is  in  at  this  day  is 
at  length  understood,  and  great  efforts  are  made  to  avert  it ; 
those  who  lately  smiled  with  contempt  at  the  bare  name  of  re 
ligion,  now  think  it  might  come  to  their  help,  and  are  the  first 
to  invoke  its  support ;  but  religion  will  remain  impotent  in 
this  respect,  so  long  as  they  persist  in  relying  upon  the  falsified 
doctrines  of  the  old  Church.  If  Christianity  no  longer  exists, 


182  LETTERS   TO   A 

so  to  speak,  but  in  name,  or  if  it  is  no  longer  effectual  to  render 
those  moral  who  call  themselves  Christians,  it  is  owing  to  the 
causes  which  I  have  already  explained  ;  but  it  is  chiefly  be 
cause  its  two  principal  branches  have  each  adopted  a  perni 
cious  error,  which  they  persist  in  spreading  among  the  peo 
ple  j  Roman  Catholicism,  in  affirming  that  the  absolution  of 
the  priest,  or  even  a  single  prayer  of  repentance,  at  the  mo 
ment  of  death,  opens  heaven  j  Protestantism,  in  maintaining 
that  it  is  sufficient  for  man  to  believe  that  the  blood  of  Christ 
has  saved  him.  These  two  doctrines  are  no  doubt  consoling ; 
they  even  present  a  charm  to  whoever  believes  in  another  life  ; 
but  they  are  absolutely  false,  and  so  much  the  more  danger 
ous,  as  they  give  to  man  a  kind  of  security,  which  prevents 
him  from  thinking  seriously  of  reformation. 

Man,  indeed,  is  naturally  led  to  procrastinate,  when  the  oc 
cupation  of  his  life  should  be  to  struggle  against  his  bad  pas 
sions  ;  now,  to  tell  him  that  a  single  prayer  of  repentance 
may  save  him,  is  not  this  flattering  his  natural  propensity  ? 
It  will  be  in  vain  to  add  that  he  may  die  without  having  time 
to  address  one  single  word  to  the  Divinity  ;  it  will  be  in  vain 
to  cite  to  him  examples  in  support,  of  what  you  say ;  he  will 
soothe  himself  with  the  hope  of  not  dying  suddenly,  or  even 
if  you  succeed  in  making  some  impression  upon  him,  that  im- 
presion  will  be  but  momentary. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  it  is  sufficient  for  man  to  believe  that 
the  blood  of  Christ  has  saved  him,  why  should  he  struggle 
against  his  bad  passions,  since  he  has  need  of  nothing  but  this 
faith? 

Tn  each  of  these  two  branches  of  Christianity  reformation  of 
life  cannot  then  be  really  undertaken  except  by  very  few  per 
sons  ;  and  the  generality  of  Christians  will  not  be  in  the  least 
interested  in  changing  their  course  of  life,  ascvery  day's  ex 
perience  sufficiently  proves. 

Suppose  men  on  the  contrary,  to  be   inwardly  penetrated 


MAN   OF   THE    WORLD.  183 

with  the  great  truths  which  the  New  Church  of  the  Lord  pro 
claims  they  would  certainly  manifest  the  greatest  inconsistency 
if  they  hesitated  a  single  moment  to  enter  upon  the  way  of  re 
formation  and  regeneration.  Convinced  that  repentance  is 
nothing,  and  that  faith  is  nothing,  if  there  is  not  a  change  of 
life — convinced  that  man  carries  with  him,  into  the  other  life, 
his  ruling  love — that  there  this  ruling  love  will  strip  him  suc 
cessively  of  all  his  vices  if  lie  is  good,  and  of  all  his  good  qual 
ities  if  he  is  had,  and  will  thus  render  him  fit  to  become  either 
free  in  heaven  or  a  slave  in  hell— would  he  not  use  all  his  efforts 
to  make  this  love  good,  especially  when  the  rational  knowledge 
which  he  would  have  of  the  spiritual  world  would  no  longer 
permit  him  to  have  the  least  doubt  of  its  existence  ? 

Hereafter,  when  you  become  acquainted  with  our  doctrines, 
and  the  admirable  morality  which  they  teach,  I  will  return  to 
this  subject ;  and  then  you  will  acquire  the  inward  conviction, 
that  it  is  only  the  New  Church  of  the  Lord,  that  is  to  say,  the 
New  Jerusalem,  that  can  cause  peace  and  tranquility  to  reign 
upon  the  earth.  Accept,  &c 


LETTER    XIII. 

IN  my  last  letter,  my  dear  sir,  I  showed  you  that  the  world 
into  which  man  enters  immediately  after  death  is  altogether 
like  ours,  except  the  difference  existing  between  what  is  spir 
itual  and  what  is  natural ;  you  have  seen  besides,  that  though 
the  world  of  spirits  was  for  man  the  exterior  manifestation  of 
his  affections  and  thoughts,  he  could,  nevertheless,  in  that 
world,  have  relations  not  only  with  those  whom  he  had  known 
during  their  natural  life,  but  also  with  spirits  who,  in  our  world, 
had  lived  in  foreign  countries,  or  even  upon  other  earths. 


184  LETTERS    TO   A 

Now,  as  it  is  impossible  that  relations  should  be  established  be 
tween  spirits  the  same  as  among  men,  without  the  use  of  some 
language,  the  first  question  which  we  have  now  to  examine  is 
this  :  In  what  language  do  spirits  converse  with  each  other  ? 

This  question  would  no  doubt  appear  absolutely  idle  to  our 
philosophers  and  theologians.  Why,  indeed,  should  they  ask 
about  the  language  of  spirits,  since,  in  their  view,  a  spirit  is 
without  organs  ?  since,  in  their  view,  the  other  world,  contain 
ing  neither  substances  nor  forms,  is  but  an  immense  vacuum, 
or  something  which  has  but  an  imaginary  existence? 

It  is  thus  they  think  when  they  are  shut  up  in  their  studies  \ 
but  let  a  painful  event  drive  them  from  their  pretended  science, 
and  immediately  the  truth,  piercing  through  the  darkness 
which  obscures  their  understanding,  becomes  manifest  to 
them. 

Behold  the  philosophical  spiritualist  wttb  has  just  lost  a 
beloved  child  j  it  is  in  vain  he  calls  to  his  aid  the  arguments  of 
his  school  concerning  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  they  re 
main  altogether  impotent  to  console  his  grief;  with  them, 
there  is  nothing  which  can  retrace  the  form  of  his  infant,  its 
smile,  its  graces,  and  its  infantine  language,  every  word  of 
which  came  so  agreeably  to  his  ear ;  all  this  is  destroyed,  des 
troyed  for  ever.  This  he  says,  this  he  repeats  in  his  despair ; 
but  suddenly  a  ray  of  truth  pierces  the  clouds  of  his  under 
standing — he  raises  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  represents  to  him 
self  his  child,  like  one  of  those  angels  which  painters  have  in 
theii  pictures;  immediately  he  feels  his  heart  dilate,  his  res 
piration  becomes  more  free ;  oh,  how  precious  is  this  thought 
to  him  !  how  it  sooths  his  grief!  he  would  give  everything  to 
retain  it ;  but  his  reason,  which  science  has  perverted,  soon 
deprives  him  of  this  only  consolation,  and  he  falls  again  into 
his  mournful  despair.  Oh,  philosophers  !  you  often  pay  dear 
for  the  frivolous  pleasures  which  your  science  procures  for 
you;  unite  it  then  to  true  theology,  and  you  will  render  it  be- 


MAN  OF    THE  WORLD.  185 

neficent  both  for  those  whom  you  wish  to  instruct,  and  for 
yourselves. 

When  a  theologian  is  with  his  mother,  whom  death  has  just 
deprived  of  her  husband,  what  are  the  arguments  which  he 
employs  to  soothe  her  affliction  ?  Does  he  tell  her  that  she 
will  again  see,  after  a  lapse  of  ages,  him  for  whom  she  weeps  ? 
Does  he  himself  believe,  in  the  effusion  of  his  grief,  that  he 
will  not  find  again  his  father,  until  after  the  complete  destruc 
tion  of  our  world  ?  Oh  surely,  such  a  thought  is  far  from  him. 
He  then  believes  that  the  object  of  their  regret  yet  exists  really 
in  a  human  form.  Hear  him  addressing  his  mother  :  You  will 
see  him  again,  says  he;  moderate  your  grief;  we  shall  meet 
him  again  as  soon  as  it  pleases  God  to  call  us.  Such  then  is 
his  language  ;  for  in  the  overflowing  of  his  filial  grief,  his  false 
science  is  forgotten,  and  a  ray  of  truth  penetrates  even  to  him. 

It  is  thus  our  philosophers  and  theologians  give  the  lie  to  their 
own  science,  whenever  truth  is  able  to  penetrate  the  clouds  of 
their  understandings. 

But  when  they  have  re-entered  their  studies,  say  nothing 
more  to  them  about  the  soul  or  spirit  under  a  human  form ; 
present  to  them  no  more  the  other  world  as  u  real  world  con 
taining  spiritual  substances  and  forms  ;  tell  them  not  that  the 
inhabitants  of  that  world  converse  together  as  we  do  in  ours ; 
they  will  laugh  you  in  the  face,  grave  as  they  are;  but,  my 
dear  friend,  let  us,  far  from  laughing  at  their  blindness,  rather 
pity  them,  for  the  more  they  think  themselves  clear-sighted 
the  more  are  they  objects  of  pity. 

The  question  which  is  now  to  engage  our  attention  will  not 
then  consist  in  the  enquiry  whether  spirits  speak  or  not ;  for 
the  momont  that  we  acknowledge  that  they  have  a  mouth,  a 
tongue,  and  ears,  and  that  they  live  surrounded  by  a  spiritual 
atmosphere,  it  at  once  becomes  evident  that  they  can  produce 
sounds  and  hear  those  which  others  produce.  So  we  have 
only  to  examine  what  must  be  the  language  which  spirits  make 


186  LETTERS    TO    A 

use  of  in  their  intercourse  with  one  another.  This  examina 
tion  will  again  require  some  digressions ;  for  if  in  this  world  the 
language  of  man  depends  upon  his  memory  and  his  thoughts, 
it  must  be  the  same  when  he  lives  in  the  world  of  spirits ;  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  then  that  I  should  give  you  some  expla- 
nation;  first  concerning  the  memory  of  man,  and  afterwards 
concerning  his  thought. 

Since  men  have  lost  true  spiritual  knowledge,  they  have  in 
vain  endeavored  to  resolve  the  problems  which  most  con 
cern  the  happiness  of  humanity ;  so  they  are  as  much  in  the 
dark  when  they  speak  of  the  memory  of  man,  as  when  they 
treat  of  the  immortality  of  his  soul.  And  how  could  it  be 
otherwise  ?  Must  not  all  the  questions  of  philosophy  be  re 
ferred  to  one  general  principle  ?  Now,  this  principle  they 
misunderstand ;  they  are  not  willing  to  comprehend  that  every 
natural  thing  envelopes  an  analogous  spiritual  one,  with  which 
it  is  in  correspondence.  If  they  admitted  this  principle,  they 
would  then  know  that  there  are  in  men  two  memories,  the 
one  natural  and  external,  the  other  spiritual  and  internal ;  they 
would  consequently  know  that  these  two  memories,  though 
they  seem  to  be  confounded,  must  nevertheless  be  distinct 
from  each  other. 

If  our  two  memories  seem  to  be  confounded  and  make  but 
one,  this  should  not  by  any  means  surprise  us ;  is  it  not  the 
same  with  our  spiritual  man  and  our  natural  man  ?  If  then 
man  does  not  perceive  that  in  his  natural  man  there  is  a  spir 
itual  man,  no  more  should  he  perceive  that  in  his  natural  mem 
ory  there  is  a  spiritual  memory  :  besides,  he  reflects  but  little 
upon  this  subject,  because  he  immerses  his  life  in  corporeal 
things,  and  can  with  difficulty  withdraw  his  mind  from  them . 

All  that  man  thinks,  wills,  says,  and  does,  all  that  he  hears 
and  sees,  everything,  in  a  word,  is  received  instantly  in  his 
interior  memory,  and  there  remains  impressed  forever:  noth 
ing  thus  received  is  entirely  effaced  from  this  memory  j  they 


MAN   OF   THE    WORLD.  187 

are  not  there  confounded  whatever  be  their  number,  which 
may  seem  astonishing;  but, this  .proceeds  from  the  very  con 
stitution  of  man  who  was  created  in  the  image  of  God  ;  for  if 
the  infinite  is  in  God  alone,  indefinites  are  in  his  spiritual  sun, 
as  I  have  already  told  you,  and  exist  as  in  an  image  in  the  cre 
ated  universe.  It  thence  results  that  the  interior  memory  of 
man  can  receive  things  in  number  indefinite,  and  preserve  all 
their  impressions ;  it  retains  even  the  impressions  of  things 
which,  having  become  a  habit  in  the  life  of  man,  are  entirely 
effaced  from  his  exterior  memory  ;  in  a  word,  it  is  in  reality 
the  book  of  his  life. 

When  man  leaves  this  world,  he  comes  into  the  full  pos 
session  of  his  interior  memory,  which  is  the  memory  of  his 
spirit,  and  though  he  has  no  longer  his  natural  body,  he  is  not 
deprived  of  his  exterior  memory.  In  what  way  he  can  also 
enjoy  this  memory  shall  now  be  shown.  As  the  things  purely 
natural  which  are  in  it  cannot  be  produced  in  the  other  life, 
the  spiritual  things  which  are  adjoined  to  them  by  correspon 
dences  are  represented  in  their  place  in  a  form  altogether  sim 
ilar,  so  that  the  life  of  man  is  really  continued  in  the  spiritual 
world,  by  means  of  this  representation  of  things  purely  natural. 
It  is  thus  that  the  man-spirit  does  not  cease  to  be  the  same 
man  that  has  lived  in  the  natural  world  ;  his  identity  is  per 
fect,  since  he  can  thus  remember  all  that  he  has  done  during 
his  life  in  this  world.  If  it  were  not  so  would  there  not  be 
something  wanting  to  his  immortal  existence  ? 

I  have  just  said  that  the  happiness  of  humanity  depended 
also  upon  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  memory  j  as  this 
assertion  may  have  appeared  to  you  rash,  it  is  necessary  to  cor 
roborate  it  here  by  some  reflections.  -  ^  • 

Though  you  may  have  given  but  little  attention  to  the  study 
of  man,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  he  himself  is  most  generally  the 
cause  of  his  own  happiness,  and  that  it  would  again  be  possi 
ble  for  him  to  live  happy  upon  this  earth,  if  he  knew  and 


188  LETTERS   TO    A 

would  moderate  his  passions.  This  truth  ra  proclaimed  in  all 
the  pulpits;  it  is  written  in  all  treatises  on  morality;  \ve  find 
it  in  all  books  of  popular  instruction.  Why,  then,  does  man 
remain  deaf  to  the  lessons  of  his  instructors,  to  the  advice  of 
moralists,  to  the  threatening  exhortations  of  the  priests'?  Why 
does  he  continue  to  let  himself  be  drawn  away  by  his  bad  pas 
sions  ?  It  is  because  it  is  riot  sufficient  to  tell  him  that  God 
sees  his  secret  thoughts;  it  is  necessary  also  to  show  him  that 
these  thoughts  .will  be  publicly  divulged,  and  above  all,  to 
prove  lo  him  how  this  will  be  done.  Now,  so  long  as  God  is 
represented  to  him  as  a  pure  spirit,  without  substance  or  form, 
so  long  as  the  soul  is  in  his  view  but  a  breath — so  long  as  the 
spiritual  world  is  looked  upon  by  him  as  something  void,  with 
out  any  objects  whatever — the  sermons  the  best  prepared  to 
produce  effect,  will  make  no  impression  up  >n  him;  if  he  is 
affected  by  them,  it  is  only  for  the  moment,  and  he  will  very 
soon  fall  again  into  his  former  errors.  But  when  he  knows 
that  God  is  VERY  MAN — when  he  is  informed  that  on  putting 
off  his  natural  body,  his  soul  is  still  invested  with  a  spiritual 
body,  and  that  he  then  enjoys  all  his  senses  in  a  degree  much 
more  elevated  than  during  his  existence  upon  our  earth — when 
he  knows  that  the  world  of  spirits,  into  which  he  will  enter 
after  putting  off  his  material  body,  is  like  ours,  except  the  dif 
ference  between  what  is  spiritual  and  what  is  natural,  and  that 
this  world  includes  innumerable  spiritual  objects  which  cor 
respond  to  natural  objects — it  will  be  sufficient  then  to  give 
him  some  explanations  concerning  his  interior  memory  in 
order  to  produce  the  conviction  that  his  most  secret  thoughts 
will  one  day  be  publicly  divulged.  Suppose  now  that  he 
should  be  penetrated  with  this  truth,  would  he  not  strive  with 
all  his  might  to  repress  within  himself  every  thought  which 
is  of  a  guilty  nature  ?  From  this  there  \vould  be  but  one  step 
to  reformation,  which  would  conduct  him  to  happiness  so  far 
as  it  can  be  hoped  for  upon  earth. 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  189 

As  to  the  manner  in  which  the  secret  thoughts  and  actions 
of  man  are  divulged,  it  is  easy  to  conceive.  All  that  man  has 
thought,  willed,  said,  and  done  in  this  world,  being  inscribed 
in  his  interior  memory,  and  the  intermediate  world  being  for 
every  spirit  a  representative  theatre  of  his  thoughts  and  affec 
tions,  it  is  only  necessary  that  a  shorter  or  longer  period  of  the 
terrestrial  life  of  a  man-spirit  should  be  suddenly  recalled  to 
his  memory  in  order  that  all  things  which  relate  to  that 
thought,  and  even  their  smallest  particulars,  may  be  immedi 
ately  manifested  by  representatives  to  the  sight  of  all  the  spirits 
near  him. 

It  is  thus  that  the  book  of  man's  life  is  opened,  and  it  is  thus 
he  is  judged.  Such  is  the  law  of  the  divine  order,  a  law  as 
inflexible  as  justice,  but  admirable  as  all  that  is  divine,  since 
it  provides  that  every  one  shall  be  judged  according  to  his 
works. 

Yet  this  divulging  of  the  thoughts  and  actions  of  man  is  not 
effected  as  soon  as  he  enters  into  the  intermediate  world,  for 
he  is  then  in  the  exteriors  of  his  spirit,  and  he  preserves  them 
for  a  longer  or  shorter  time,  according  to  his  greater  or  less  at 
tachment  to  external  things;  but  it  is  effected  when,  being 
entirely  divested  of  his  exteriors,  h%  comes  forever  into  the 
interiors  of  his  spirit.  This  is  not  the  place  to  speak  of  the 
different  states  through  which  man  passes  during  his  sojourn 
in  the  world  of  spirits  j  we  will  give  some  attention  to  this 
hereafter.  But  as  the  subject  is  now  concerning  the  manifes 
tation  of  the  thoughts  and  actions  of  man  by  means  of  his 
memory,  I  will  present  you  with  an  extract  from  Sweilenborg, 
in  which  you  will  find  in  the  first  place  several  explanatory 
examples,  and  afterward  the  principles  which  govern  this  sub 
ject.  In  the  Treatise  concerning  Heaven  and  Hell,  Nos.  462, 
463,  he  says  : 

"  But  still  the  difference  between  the  life  of  man  in  the 
spiritual  world,  and  his  life  in  the  natural  world,  is  great,  as 

9 

\ 


190  LETTERS   TO    A 

well  with  respect  to  the  external  senses  and  their  affections,  as 
with  respect  to  the  internal  senses  and  their  affections.  Those 
who  are  in  heaven  perceive,  that  is,  they  see  and  hear  more 
exquisitely,  and  also  think  more  wisely,  than  when  they  were 
in  the  world ;  for  they  see  from  the  light  of  heaven,  which 
exceeds  by  many  degrees  the  light  of  the  world  ;  they  hear 
also  by  a  spiritual  atmosphere,  which  likewise  exceeds 
by  many  degrees  that  of -the  earth,  the  difference  of  these 
external  senses  is  as  the  difference  of  sun-shine  in  respect 
to  the  obscurity  of  a  mist  in  the  world,  and  as  the  differ 
ence  of  light  at  mid-day  in  respect  to  shade  in  the  evening : 
for  the  light  of  heaven,  because  it  is  divine  truth,  gives 
to  the  sight  of  the  angels  to  perceive  and  distinguish  things 
the  most  minute.  Their  external  sight  also  corresponds 
to  their  internal  sight,  or  the  understanding :  for  with  the  an 
gels  one  sight  flows  into  the  other,  so  that  they  act  as  one ; 
hence  they  have  so  great  acuteness;  and  in  like  manner  also 
the  hearing  corresponds  to  their  perception,  which  is  as  well 
of  the  understanding  as  of  the  will  j  hence,  in  the  sound  and 
words  of  one  speaking  they  perceive  the  most  minute  things 
of  his  affection  and  thought;  in  sound  the  things  which  are  of 
affection,  and  in  the  \m>rds  the  things  which  are  of  thought : 
see  above.  But  the  rest  of  the  senses  with  the  angels  are  not 
so  exquisite  as  the  senses  of  seeing  and  hearing,  because  see 
ing  and  hearing  are  serviceable  to  their  intelligence  and  wis 
dom,  but  not  the  rest — which,  if  they  were  in  a  like  degree 
exquisite,  would  take  away  the  light  and  delight  of  their  wis 
dom,  and  would  bring  in  the  delight  of  pleasures,  which  are  ef 
the  various  appetites  of  the  body,  which  obscure  and  debilitate 
the  understanding  in  proportion  as  they  prevail  •  as  also  in  the 
case  with  men  in  the  world,  who  are  dull  and  stupid  as  to 
spiritual  truths,  in  proportion  as  they  indulge  the  taste  and  tan 
gible  blandishments  of  the  body.  That  the  interior  senses  of 
the  angels  of  heaven,  which  are  of  their  thought  and  affection, 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  191 

are  also  more  exquisite  and  perfect  than  what  they  had  in  the 
world,  may  be  manifest  from  what  has  been  said  and  shown 
in  the  article  concerning  the  wisdom  of  angels  of  heaven,  (No. 
265-275).  But  as  to  what  concerns  the  difference  of  the  state 
of  those  who  are  in  hell  in  respect  to  their  state  in  the  world, 
it  also  is  great ;  as  great  as  is  the  perfection  and  excellence  of 
the  external  and  internal  senses  of  angels  who  are  in  heaven, 
so  great  is  the  imperfection  of  those  who  are  in  hell.  But  the 
state  of  these  will  be  treated  of  in  what  follows. 

"  That  man,  when  he  passes  out  of  the  world,  has  also  with 
him  all  his  memory,  has  been  shown  by  many  circumstances ; 
concerning  which  many  things  worthy  to  be  mentioned  have 
been  seen  and  heard,  some  of  which  I  will  relate  in  order. 
There  were  those  who  denied  the  crimes  and  villanies  which 
they  had  perpetrated  in  the  world,  wherefore  lest  they  should 
be  believed  innocent,  all  were  disclosed  and  were  recounted 
from  their  memory,  in  order  from  their  earliest  age  to  the 
latest ;  they  were  principally  adulteries  and  whoredoms.  There 
were  some  who  had  deceived  others  by  wicked  arts  and  who 
had  stolen ;  their  deceits  and  thefts  were  also  enumerated  in 
a  series,  many  of  which  were  known  to  scarcely  any  one  in 
the  world,  except  to  themselves  alone;  they  also  acknowl 
edged  them,  because  they  were  made  manifest  as  in  the  light, 
with  every  thought,  intention,  delights  and  fear,  which  then 
together  agitated  their  minds.  There  were  some  who  had 
accepted  bribes,  and  had  made  gain  of  judgement ;  they  from 
their  memory  were  in  like  manner  explored,  and  from  it  were 
recounted  all  things  from  the  first  period  of  their  office  to  the 
last ;  every  particular,  as  to  quality"  and  quantity,  together 
with  the  time,  the  state  of  their  mind,  and  intention,  all  which 
things  were  at  the  same  time  brought  to  their  recollection,  and 
shown  to  their  sight,  which  were  more  than  several  hundreds. 
This  was  done  in  some  cases ;  and  what  is  wonderful,  their 
memorandum  books  themselves,  in  which  they  had  written 


192  LETTERS   TO    A 

such  things,  were  opened  and  read  before  them,  from  page  to 
page.  There  were  some  who  had  enticed  virgins  to  acts  of 
fornication,  and  who  had  violated  chastity,  and  they  were 
called  to  a  similar  judgment ;  and  every  particular  of  their 
crimes  was  taken  and  recited  from  their  memory ;  the  very 
faces  of  the  virgins  and  women  were  also  produced  as  present, 
with  places,  speeches,  and  purposes,  and  this  as  suddenly  as 
when  any  thing  is  presented  to  view ;  the  manifestations  con 
tinued  sometimes  for  hours  together.  There  was  one  who 
had  esteemed  backbiting  others  as  nothing,  and  I  heard  his 
backbitings  recounted  in  order,  and  defamations  also  with  the 
very  words,  the  persons  concerning  whom  and  before  whom 
he  had  uttered  them — all  were  produced  and  presented  to  the 
life  at  the  same  time  j  and  yet  every  particular  was  studiously 
concealed  by  him  when  he  lived  in  the  world.  There  was  a 
certain  one  who  had  deprived  a  relation  of  his  inheritance, 
under  a  fraudulent  pretext  :  he  was,  in  like  manner,  convicted 
and  judged,  and,  what  is  wonderful,  the  letters  and  notes 
which  passed  between  them  were  read  in  my  hearing,  and  it 
was  said  that  there  \vas  not  a  word  wanting.  The  same  person 
also,  shortly  before  his  death,  clandestinely  destroyed  his  neigh 
bor  by  poison,  which  was  disclosed  in  this  manner ;  he  appeared 
to  dig  a  hole  under  ground,  from  which  a  man  came  forth  as  out 
of  a  sepulchre,  and  cried  out  to  him,  l  What  have  you  done  to 
me  V  then  everything  was  revealed,  how  the  murderer  talked 
with  him  in  a  friendly  manner,  and  held  out  the  cup,  also  what 
he  thought  before,  and  what  afterwards  came  to  pass  ;  which 
things  being  disclosed,  he  was  sentenced  to  hell.  In  a  word, 
all  evils,  villanies,  robberies,  artifices,  deceits,  are  manifested 
to  every  evil  spirit,  and  brought  forth  from  his  very  memory, 
and  he  is  convicted  j  nor  is  there  any  room  given  for  denial 
because  all  the  circumstances  appear  together.  I  have  heard 
also  from  the  memory  of  a  certain  one,  when  it  was  seen  and 
surveyed  by  the  angels,  what  his  thoughts  had  been  within  a 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  193 

month,  one  day  after  another,  and  this  without  fallacy,  which 
were  recalJed  as  he  himself  was  in  them  on  those  days.  From 
these  examples  it  may  be  manifest,  that  man  carries  along 
with  him  all  his  memory,  and  that  there  is  nothing,  however 
concealed  in  the  world,  which  is  not  manifested  after  death ; 
and  this  in  the  company  of  several,  according  to  the  Lord's 
words ;  "  There  is  nothing  hidden  which  shall  not  be  uncovered 
and  nothing  concealed  which  shall  not  be  k*own;  therefore 
the  things  which  ye  have  said  in  darkness  shall  be  heard  in 
light,  and  what  ye  have  spoken  into  the  ear  shall  be  preached 
on  the  house-tops." — Luke,  xii.  2.  3. 

"  When  man's  acts  are  disclosed  to  him  after  death,  the  an 
gels  then  to  whom  is  given  the  office  of  inquisition,  look  into 
his  face,  and  the  search  is  extended  through  the  whole  body, 
beginning  from  the  fingers  of  one  hand,  and  of  the  other,  and 
thus  proceeding  through  the  whole.  Because  I  wondered 
whence  this  was,  it  was  disclosed  to  me,  viz.,  that  as  all  things 
of  the  thought  and  will  are  inscribed  on  the  brain,  for  their 
principles  are  there,  so  also  they  are  inscribed  on  their  whole 
body  ;  since  all  things  of  thought  and  will  proceed  thither 
from  their  principles,  and  there  terminate,  as  in  their  ultimates. 
Hence  it  is,  that  the  things  which  are  inscribed  on  the  mem 
ory,  from  the  will,  and  thence  its  thought,  are  not  only  inscrib 
ed  on  the  brain,  but  also  on  the  whole  man,  and  there  exist  in 
order,  according  to  the  order  of  the  parts  of  the  body.  Hence 
it  was  made  evident  that  man  in  the  whole  is  such  as  he  is  in  his 
will  and  thought  thence,  so  that  an  evil  man  is  his  own  evil,  and 
a  good  man  is  his  own  good.  From  these  things  also  it  maybe 
manifest  what  is  meant  by  the  book  of  man's  life  spoken  of  in 
the  word,  that  is,  that  all  things,  both  which  have  been  acted  and 
thought,  are  inscribed  on  the  whole  man,  and  that  they  appear 
as  if  read  in  a  book  when  they  are  called  forth  from  the  mem 
ory,  and  as  seen  in  effigy  when  the  spirit  is  seen  in  the  light 
of  heaven.  To  these  things  I  will  add  something  memorable 


194  LETTERS   TO    A 

concerning  the  memory  ol  man  remaining  after  death,  by  which 
I  was  confirmed,  that  not  only  general  things  but  also  the  most 
singular,  which  have  entered  the  memory,  remain,  nor  are 
they  ever  obliterated.  There  appeared  to  me  books  with  \vrit- 
tings  therein,  as  in  the  world,  and  I  was  instructed  that  they 
were  from  the  memory  of  those  who  wrote,  and  that  there 
was  not  a  single  word  wanting  there,  which  was  in  the  book 
written  by  the  «ame  person  in  the  world ;  and  that  thus  from 
the  memory  of  another  may  be  taken  the  most  singular  things 
of  all,  even  those  which  he  himself  in  the  world  had  forgotten. 
The  reason  was  also  disclosed,  viz.,  that  man  has  an  external 
and  internal  memory,  an  external  which  is  of  his  natural 
man,  and  an  internal  which  is  of  his  spiritual  man ;  and  that 
everything  that  man  has  thought,  willed,  spoken,  done,  also 
that  he  has  heard  or  seen,  is  inscribed  on  his  spiritual  memory ; 
and  that  the  things  which  are  there  are  never  erased,  since  they 
are  inscribed  at  the  same  time  on  the  spirit  itself,  arid  on  the 
members  of  its  body,  as  was  said  above ;  and  that  thus  the 
spirit  is  formed  according  to  the  thoughts  and  acts  of  its  will. 
I  know  that  these  things  appear  as  paradoxes,  and  thence  are 
scarcely  believed,  but  still  they  are  true.  Let  not  man  there 
fore  believe  that  anything  which  a  man  has  thought  in  him 
self,  and  has  done  in  secret,  is  concealed  after  death ;  but  let 
him  believe  that  each  and  all  things  then  appear  as  in  clear 
day." 

I  have  transcribed  this  passage  for  two  reasons;  first,  be 
cause  the  details  and  principles  which  it  contains  throw  light 
upon  the  subject  which  engages  our  attention  j  and  next,  I 
was  desirous  of  showing  you  with  what  candor  Swedenborg 
relates  what  he  has  seen,  though  he  well  knew  how  difficult  it 
would  be  for  men  to  believe  his  relations. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  exterior  or  natural  memory.  I 
have  already  said  that  all  things  purely  natural,  which  are  in 
that  memory,  cannot  be  reproduced  in  the  other  life,  but  in 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  195 

their  place  are  corresponding  spiritual  things  in  a  form  absolute 
ly  similar  ;  now,  things  purely  natural,  being  those  which 
are  neither  intellectual  nor  rational,  we  must  rank  among  them 
all  the  words  of  earthly  languages,  for  there  is  nothing  intel 
lectual  or  rational  in  these  words.  It  thence  results  that  our 
natural  languages  cannot  be  of  any  use  in  the  world  of 
spirits;  if  there  exist  books  there  which  seem  to  include,  as 
you  have  just  seen,  the  same  words  as  our  books,  they  are  re 
presentative  appearances,  which  have  but  a  simple  relation  of 
correspondence  with  the  language  of  spirits,  and  you  will  ac 
knowledge  presently  that  in  this  language  words  become  abso 
lutely  useless.  In  our  world,  it  is  true,  men  cannot  converse 
with  one  another  without  the  use  of  languages  divided  into  ar 
ticulate  sounds,  that  is,  into  words,  and  do  not  understand  each 
other  unless  they  are  acquainted  with  the  same  language  ;  but 
it  is  because  they  are  immersed  in  things  purely  natural  and 
corporeal,  and  cannot  withdraw  their  minds  from  them. 

The  language  of  man  depending  not  only  npon  his  memory, 
but  his  thought,  we  have  now  to  carry  onr  investigations  to  the 
nature  of  thought ;  will  you  for  a  moment  lend  me  all  your  at 
tention  ? 

If  man  would  reflect  upon  what  passes  within  him,  he 
would  acknowledge  that  his  language  is  nothing  else  than  his 
thought  speaking  by  means  of  the  organs  of  his  body.  Indeed 
the  thought  of  man  is  active  or  passive ;  it  is  active  when  he 
speaks  and  passive  when  he  is  silent.  Now,  his  active  thought, 
which  we  may  also  call  his  speaking  thought,  expresses  itself 
according  to  a  mode  proper  to  itself;  and  by  the  activity  of  its 
language,  it  excites  the  organs  of  the  body  which  correspond 
to  this  language.  I  confess  however,  that  at  the  first  examination 
it  seems  to  man,  that  the  words  of  his  language  are  in  his 
thought ;  but  should  not  every  reflecting  man  hesitate  before 
concluding  from  a  first  appearence  1  Does  he  not  know  that 
he  lives  in  the  midst  of  illusions  of  every  kind  ?  If  the  pro- 


196  LETTERS    TO    A 

gress  of  the  physical  sciences  has  discovered  so  many  illusions 
of  the  senses  which  had,  for  thousands  of  years,  been  taken 
for  realities  should  not  a  progress  of  theology  and  philosophy 
also  unveil  them  ?  Well,  this  appearance  that  the  words  of  the 
language  of  man  are  in  his  thoughts  is  pure  illusion  ;  it  is  only 
the  sense  of  a  language  which  is  in  thought.  In  a  word,  when 
man  speaks  his  thought  is  the  language  of  his  spirit,  and  if  it 
does  riot  Jhen  appear  to  him  to  be  a  language,  it  is  because  it 
conjoins  itself  to  the  language  of  the  body,  and  is  in  this  lan 
guage.  Besides,  it  is  easy  to  acknowledge  that  the  language 
of  the  thought  differs  much  from  the  language  of  words; 
since  man  can  think  in  one  minute  what  it  takes  him  a  long 
time  to  speak,  it  is  very  evident  that  he  could  not  speak  with 
so  much  readiness,  if  the  language  of  thought  was  composed 
of  words,  like  that  of  the  body.  (See  the  Arcana  Celeslia,  no. 
3679.  4052.  6987.) 

But,  you  will  say,  In  what  then  does  the  language  of  the 
thought  consist  ?  This  I  can  now  explain  to  you  in  a  few 
words. 

The  thought  of  man  is  composed  of  ideas,  as  a  phrase  is 
composed  of  words ;  thus  in  the  language  of  the  mind  one  idea 
of  his  thought  follows  another,  as  in  the  language  of  the  body 
one  word  follows  another  word ;  but  the  ideas  of  the  thought 
succeed  one  another  with  so  much  rapidity,  that  during  our 
life  in  this  world,  if  seems  to  us  that  the  thought  is  continuous 
and  does  not  present  any  distinction  in  it.  (See  the  Arcana 
Celestia,  no.  6599.) 

The  language  of  the  mind  of  man  then  is  composed  of  ideas 
of  his  thought,  and  it  is  by  the  influx  of  this  language  into  the 
correspondent  organs  of  the  body  that  the  language  of  words  is 
produced.  Thus  when  man  leaves  this  world,  as  he  divests 
himself  of  all  that  was  of  use  to  the  body,  he  leaves  with  it  all 
the  words  of  human  languages  with  which  he  was  acquainted 
and  as  he  carries  with  him  all  that  belongs  to  his  mind,  he 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  197 

finds  himself  in  possession  of  all  his  thoughts  and  memory,  as 
well  interior  as  exterior,  excepting,  as  to  the  latter,  the  modi 
fications  of  which  I  have  spoken  to  you;  and  it  is  by  means 
of  his  interior  memory  and  of  the  ideas  of  his  thoughts,  that 
he  expresses  himself  in  his  new  abode.  Human  thought,  says 
Swedenborg,  then  becomes  more  distinct  and  clear,  and  the 
ideas  of  the  thought  become  discrete,  so  that  they  serve  for 
distinct  forms  of  speech.  What  was  obscure  is  dissipated,  and 
thus  the  thought,  delivered  from  the  fetters,  as  it  were,  with 
which  it  was  bound,  consequently  from  the  shadows  in  which 
it  was  involved,  becomes  more  instantly  perceived ;  thence  it 
results  that  the  intuition,  perception,  and  utterance  of  every 
particular  contained  in  it  are  rendered  more  immediate.  (A  .C. 
1757.) 

It  is  then  ideas  of  the  thought  which  take  the  place  of  words ; 
and  these  ideas,  which  we  cannot  distinguish  here  on  earth, 
being  clearly  manifested  when  we  are  freed  from  our  natural 
body,  become  then  distinct  forms  of  our  language.  It  must 
not  be  supposed,  however,  that  this  language  is  mute  j  it  is 
manifested  exteriorly  like  that  of  men,  by  means  of  sounds 
which  are  produced  and  are  heard  like  those  of  our  language  ; 
for  spirits,  as  you  know,  having  a  mouth,  tongue,  and  ears,  and 
being  surrounded  by  a  spiritual  atmosphere,  respire  in  this  at 
mosphere  ;  and  by  means  of  that  respiration  arid  of  organs  of 
language,  they  produce  words  like  men  in  our  world.  Then 
the  ideas  of  their  thought,  and  the  words  of  their  speech  make 
one,  as  the  efficient  cause  and  the  effect ;  for  that  which  exists 
as  a  cause,  in  the  ideas  of  thought,  is  manifested  as  an  effect 
in  words. 

You  may  now  see  what  is  the  principal  difference  which  ex 
ists  between  the  language  of  the  ideas  of  thought  and  the 
language  of  words  ;  the  latter  is  altogether  conventional,  as  its 
very  construction  proves ;  and  the  former  is  above  all  conven 
tion,  as  it  flows  from  the  affection  itself,  and  the  thought  itself 


198  LETTERS   TO    A 

of  the  man-spirit ;  in  this  language,  sound  corresponds  to  af 
fection,  and  the  articulation  of  the  sound  corresponds  to  the 
ideas  of  the  thought  which  proceeds  from  the  affection. 

The  language  of  words  being  with  us  altogether  conventional, 
it  results  that  the  inhabitants  of  our  world  cannot,  in  their 
present  state,  understand  one  another  except  they  are  ac 
quainted  with  the  same  conventional  language.  The  language 
of  the  ideas  of  thought  being,  on  the  contrary,  above  all  con 
vention,  it  results  that  it  is  spoken  and  understood  by  all 
spirits  without  being  obliged  to  learn  it;  for  one  affection  al 
ways  manifests  itself  by  the  sound  which  is  proper  to  it,  and 
one  idea  of  thought  by  the  articulation  which  alone  agrees 
with  it. 

From  all  that  precedes  we  must  necessarily  conclude,  that 
the  language  which  is  spoken  in  the  world  of  spirits  is  the  real 
universal  language ;  and  that  this  language  can  never  be  un 
derstood  upon  our  earth,  so  long  as  men  are  immersed  in 
things  purely  natural  and  corporeal,  and  will  not  elevate  them 
selves  to  things  really  rational  and  intellectual. 

Thus,  every  man  who  leaves  this  earth,  is  able  to  speak  the 
universal  language  as  soon  as  he  enters  into  the  intermediate 
world  5  and  he  can  by  this  means  converse,  not  only  with  the 
spirits  who  have  inhabited  our  earth,  whatever  may  have  been 
their  language  here,  but  with  spirits  who  may  have  belonged 
to  one  of  those  innumerable  earths  which  compose  the  natural 
universe.  The  correspondence  which  exists  between  the 
language  of  thought  and  the  language  of  words,  causes  man, 
in  the  first  moments  of  his  new  sojourn,  to  speak  this  language 
without  being  aware  of  it,  believing  that  he  is  expressing  him 
self  in  the  language  he  made  use  of  in  the  world. 

You  have,  no  doubt,  my  dear  sir,  met  with,  among  your  ac 
quaintances,  some  enthusiastic  admirer  of  mucic,  an  honest 
man,  who  believes  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  after  the 
manner  of  our  psychologists.  Speak  to  him,  I  pray  you;  of 


MAN   OF    THE    WORLD.  199 

our  ideas  concerning  spiritual  substances  and  forms ;  tell  him 
that  in  the  other  world  we  shall  live  in  a  spiritual  body  in  the 
midst  of  an  immaterial  atmosphere.  He  will  regard  you  at 
-first  with  attention,  to  assure  himself  whether  you  are  speak 
ing  seriously,  and  if  he  does  not  see  you  smile,  he  will  think 
you  have  lost  your  senses,  though  he  may  not  tell  yon  so  to 
your  face  ;  that  will  depend  upon  the  degree  of  familiarity 
which  exists  between  you.  Let  not  this  contempt  for  your 
new  faith  disconcert  you,  but  ask  him  if  he  believes  in  the 
immortality  of  the  soul :  he  will  answer  you  in  the  affirma- 
tiye  j  ask  him  if  he  thinks  that  the  soul  of  the  good  man  will 
live  in  a  happy  state :  he  will  tell  you,  yes ;  ask  him  if  he 
knows  in  what  consists  the  happiness  of  that  soul ;  upon  this 
point  his  answer  will  be  in  the  negative ;  ask  him  next  what 
it  is  in  this  world  which  affords  him  thy  most  delightful  enjoy 
ment  ;  he  will  answer,  "  Music ;  nothing,'7  he  will  tell  yon, 
"  electrifies  all  the  faculties  of  my  soul  like  the  melodious  ac 
cents  of  the  human  voice,  united  with  the  sound  of  instru 
ments  ;  it  is  to  me  the  most  Inply  pleasure  j  it  is  then  only 
that  1  enjoy  life  in  fulness."  Interrupt  him  quickly,  (for  this 
subject  being  inexhaustible,  he  knows  not  when  to  stop,)  and 
say  to  him,  "  You  love  it  well,  my  dear  friend,  and  when  you 
think  of  the  other  life,  you  hope  your  soul  will  be  happy 
there.  You  do  not  know,  it  is  true,  in  what  its  happiness  will 
consist  j  but  I.  ask  you,  can  it  be  happy  if  deprived  of  a  con 
course  of  sweet  sounds'?"  At  these  words  you  will  see  him 
hang  his  head  and  reflect.  Continue  :  "  If  the  good  man  must 
live  happy  in  the  other  life,  and  you  do  not  doubt  that,  God  is 
too  just  to  deprive  him  of  what  constituted  the  charm  of  his 
life ;  and  as  God  must  have  foreseen  everything,  should  there 
have  been  upon  the  earth  but  one  single  musician,  a  good  man, 
the  divine  justice  would  have  provided  for  him,  in  his  immor 
tal  existence,  those  innocent  pleasures  which  were  here  the  re 
creation  of  his  earthly  existence."1'  Your  friend,  whom  these 
9* 


200  LETTERS   TO    A 

words  will  relieve  from  the  painful  reflections  into  which  you 
had  first  plunged  him,  will  then  raise  his  head  with  an  air  of 
satisfaction,  and  say:  "You  are  right ;  why  should  there  not 
be  music  and  singing  in  the  other  life  1  The  Grecian  philoso 
phers  thought  that  music  prevailed  in  heaven,  and  constituted 
the  principal  amusement  of  the  Gods  and  virtuous  souls ;  arid 
do  not  our  theologians  speak  of  choirs  of  angels?"  "  This  ifi 
true,"  you  will  reply,  "but  I  would  have  you  to  observe,  that 
without  an  atmosphere  it  is  impossible  there  should  be  sounds. 
And  these  accents  of  the  human  voice  which  you  prefer  to  the 
sounds  of  all  instruments,  how  could  they  be  produced  if  souls 
do  not  speak,  at  least,  if  they  do  not  sing  ?  And  how  could 
they  sing  if  they  had  not  a  spiritual  body,  and  if  they  were 
not  surrounded  with  an  immaterial  atmosphere  ?  And  your 
own  soul,  how  will  it  be  possible  to  hear  sounds,  if  it  has 
neither  substance  nor  form,  as  from  your  philosophical  princi 
ples  you  believe  ?"  Do  not  'press  him  further  j  tell  him  to 
compare  these  principles,  of  which  he  seems  so  proud,  with 
those  whose  simple  enunciation  has  almost  made  you  pass  for 
a  fool  in  his  eyes;  and,  if  after  having  maturely  reflected  upon 
spiritual  substances  and  forms,  upon  the  existence  of  the  soul  in 
a  human  form,  and  concerning  immaterial  atmospheres,  he 
still  persists  in  his  principles,  of  which  I  doubt,  he  will  respect 
yours,  and  never  permit  himself  again  to  laugh  at  them. 

Accept,  &c. 


LETTER  XIV. 

LET  us  continue,  mv  dear  sir,  our  examination  of  questions 
of  detail. 

In  the  preceding  letters,  we  have  taken  man  at  his  depar 
ture  from  the  world  and  introduced  him  into  the  spiritual 


MAN    OF   THE   WORLD.  201 

world.  You  have  seen  him,  in  the  midst  of  spirits,  speaking 
their  language  without  having  learned  it,  associating  with 
those  whose  character  has  some  analogy  with  his  own,  and 
preserving,  as  in  our  world,  his  individuality  by  means  of  a 
human  form  which,  being  proper  to  him,  thus  distinguishes 
him  from  all  other  spirits.  Let  us  now  enquire  what  this  form 
is,  and  first  see  if  it  is  the  same  as  that  which  he  had  at  his 
departure  from  our  world. 

&s  the  other  life  is  a  continuation  of  this,  and  death  is 
merely  a  passage  from  one  world  into  another,  the  tirst  mo 
ments  of  a  new  existence  must  be  conformable  to  the  last  mo 
ments  of  the  preceding.  You  recollect  besides,  that  there  is 
a  gradation  in  everything  which  is  subject  to  the  Djvine  Or 
der,  as  well  in  the  spiritual  as  in  the  material  universe. 
Man  entering  into  the  other  life  preserves  then  the  physiog 
nomy  by  which  he  was  known  in  the  world  :  the  infant  enters 
an  infant ;  the  young  man  with  all  thv  freshness  of  youth ;  the 
old  man  with  all  his  wrinkles  and  frailty ;  and  this,  because 
man,  as  a  spirit,  though  divested  of  his  i material  body,  is  then 
in  the  exteriors  of  his  spiritual  body.  But  he  does  not  always 
remain  in  those  exteriors :  he  by  degrees  puts  off  this  second 
clothing  of  his  real  spiritual  body  and  retains  no  more  traces 
of  it  when  he  leaves  the  world  of  spirits,  whether  to  enter  into 
heaven,  or  to  precipitate  himself  into  hell.  (See  the  10th  let 
ter).  Thus  during  this  new  phasis  of  his  life,  man  is  prepar 
ing  to  manilest  the  interiors  of  his  spirit,  and  his  countenance 
becoming  by  degrees  the  mirror  of  his  affections,  or  rather  of 
his  ruling  love,  which  always  tends  to  development,  his  phy 
siognomy  must  appear  more  and  more  beautiful,  if  his  ruling 
love  is  good,  and  more  arid  more  deformed  if  his  ruling  love 
is  bad.  All  this  evidently  results  from  principles  previously 
established. 

But  here  a  question  arises  which  you  would  certainly  pre 
sent,  if  I  should  pass  by  it  in  silence,  for  it  is  very  rare  that  it 


2U2  LETTERS    TO   A 

is  not  addressed  to  us  when  we  are  speaking  of  the  mode  of 
existence  in  the  other  world.  Do  we  there  become  young 
again?  exclaim  almost  always  with  eagerness  those  who  have 
passed  the  spring  time  of  life. 

This  question 'is  not  resolved  by  what  precedes;  for  from 
the  circumstance  that  the  physiognomy  of  man  will  become 
more  and  more  beautiful,  it  does  i/ot  follow  that  he  will  him 
self  again  return  to  the  flower  of  youth.  Thus  to  speak  only 
of  the  old  man,  all  that  results  from  what  has  been  said  is,  that 
the  old  man  whose  ruling  love  is  good,  will,  in  the  other  life, 
be  a  beautiful  old  man,  and  possess  the  tastes  and  inclinations 
of  a  wise  old  man ;  but  the  question  is  repeated,  will  he  again 
become  young  with  the  tastes  and  inclinations  of  youth  1 

The  reply,  which  we  make  in  the  affirmative,  generally 
pleases  those  who  interrogate  us,  because  there  are  so  few  who 
do  not  regret  their  youthful  age ;  but  the  greater  part,  not 
contented  with  this  simple  answer  alone,  enquire  further,  how 
such  a  transformation  can  be  effected.  As  I  do  not  believe 
that  you  are  a  man  to  be  contented  with  a  simple  yes,  I  will 
explain  how,  in  the  spiritual  world,  the  old  man  can  become  a 
young  man. 

But,  previously,  permit  me  to  make  some  reflections.  They 
will  lead  us  to  establish  first,  that  although,  in  our  world,  man 
grows  old,  it  cannot  be  the  same  with  him  in  the  spiritual 
world.  Like  all  the  bodies  of  the  animal  and  vegetable.king- 
doms,  the  human  body,  after  having  reached  its  maximum  of 
youth  and  strength,  enters  upon  a  period  of  decay  which  ter 
minates  in  a  complete  dissolution.  Such  is  the  law  of  natural 
order.  The  aged  never  return  to  their  youth,  and  the  virtue  of 
the  fountain  of  youth  exist  only  in  the  writings  of  poets,  and 
the  imagination  of  some  superstitious  persons. 

How  many  regrets  this  law  of  natural  order  every  day  ex 
cites  !  how  many  complaints  it  continually  gives  rise  to  !  and 
yet  it  is  altogether  conformable  to  the  love  and  wisdom  of  the 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  203 

Creator.  Consider  what  would  have  happened,  if  it  had  been 
possible  for  man  to  be  always  young  and  live  eternally  upon 
this  earth,  and  you  will  readily  acknowledge  that  this  law  of 
natural  order,  which  excites  so  many  murmurs,  proves  also, 
like  all  his  other  laws,  the  merciful  views  of  God  towards  the 
human  race. 

Our  globe  renews  its  inhabitants  three  or  four  times  in  an 
age,  and  yet  some  are  apprehensive  that  it  may  become  too 
populous  !  And  statistics  prove  that  the  earth  would  be  very 
soon  unable  to  nourish  its  inhabitants,  if  the  population  con 
tinued  to  follow  its  increasing  progression.  What  then  would 
have  happened  if  man  had  not  been  subject  to  natural  death? 
A.  consequence  of  this  terrestrial  immortality  would  inevitably 
have  been  a  limitation  as  to  numbers  ;  and  already  thousands 
of  years  would  have  passed  since  the  closing  of  the  list.  There 
would  have  been  no  more  births  from  that  time.  Imagine 
then  the  earth  covered  with  inhabitants,  the  youngest  of  which 
would  be  many  thousand  years  old :  admit  further,  according 
to  our  supposition,  that  they  all  remained  in  the  prime  of  life, 
and  tell  me  if,  in  that  case,  from  the  nature  of  the  human  heart 
which  under  the  penalty  of  satiety  demands  a  continual  varie 
ty  in  all  things,  the  terrestrial  immortality  of  these  men  would 
not  have  become  a  burden  to  them  ? 

Besides,  if  it  had  been  thus,  the  infinity  of  God  would  no 
longer  be  manifested  in  his  works ;  for  the  limitation  of  the 
number  of  men  upon  the  terrestrial  globe  would  have  been  a 
proof  of  the  limitation  of  his  power.  God  being  infinite,  all 
things  produced  must  be  unlimited,  or  in  other  words,  the  in 
finity  of  God  must  manifest  itself  in  creation  by  indefinites. 
Now,  in  order  that  indefinites  may  exist  in  the  natural  uni 
verse,  which  is  subject  to  the  laws  of  space  and  time,  it  is  ab 
solutely  necessary  that  all  the  bodies  of  the  vegetable  and  an 
imal  kingdoms,  to  give  place  to  others,  should  successively 
pass  through  periods  of  growth  and  decay. 


204  LETTERS    TO    A 

It  was  then  conformable  to  the  love  and  wisdom  of  God.  that 
man,  for  whom  the  universe  was  created,  should  be  but  a  so- 
journer  upon  this  material  earth,  whose  limits  are  fixed  and  in 
variable,  and  that  he  should  only  enjoy  immortality — his  in 
contestable  heritage,  as  a  creature  in  the  image  and  likeness  of 
God — on  a  spiritual  earth,  unlimited  as  all  that  is  independent 
of  time  and  space,  and  consequently  capable  of  receiving  to  all 
eternity  the  generations  that  will  successively  pass  on  our 
globe. 

In  what  blindness  then  are  they,  whose  greatest  desire  is  to 
live  eternally  in  our  world,  and  who  blaspheme  the  Divinity, 
by  murmuring  against  that  law  which  subjects  man  to  natural 
death  ?  They  thus  abuse  that  conservative  instinct  which  God 
has  impressed  upon  the  heart  of  man,  and  which  makes  him 
dread  death.  If  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  man  should  be,  by 
an  irresistible  attraction,  attached  to  his  existence  here  below, 
it  is  because  man  has  a  function  to  perform  upon  this  earth,  as 
well  for  his  own  interest  as  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  de 
signs  of  the  Divinity  towards  the  human  race  in  general.  In 
impressing  upon  man  the  fear  of  death,  it  is  the  will  of  God, 
without  however  forcing  his  liberty,  to  prevent  him  as  far  pos 
sible  from  arrogating  to  himself  the  right  of  discontinuing  this 
function,  and  thus  opposing  his  merciful  views.  Without  this 
fear  of  death,  would  the  religious  principle,  which  classes  su 
icide  among  the  most  enormous  crimes,  be  strong  enough  to 
prevent  men  from  precipitating  themselves  in  crowds  into  the 
other  life?  and  what  then  would  become  of  the  plans  of  the 
Divine  Providence  ?  In  fearing  death,  we  do  but  obey  the  laws 
of  order,  and  so  long  as  our  fear  does  not  surpass  our  confidence 
in  the  divine  mercy,  it  is  moderated,  and  does  not  produce  any 
prejudicial  effect,  because  we  remain  in  order ;  but  in  the  con 
trary  case,  it  renders  us  unhappy,  because  in  thus  abusing  the 
conservative  instinct,  we  are  in  order  no  longer. 

Man  being  merely  a  passenger  upon  this  earth,  it  is  by  nat- 


MAN   OF    THE  WORLD.  205 

ural  death  that  he  should  leave  it;  for  violent  and  premature 
deaths  are  only  exceptional  cases;  it  is  necessary  then  that  his* 
material  body,  after  having  attained,  by  an  ascending  progres- 
BI  ,ri  its  maximum  of  strength,  should  retrogade  to  the  last  degree 
of  decay,  by  passing  successively  through  the  periods  of  in 
fancy,  youth,  manhood,  old  age  and  decrepitude.  In  short, 
man  grows  old  in  our  world,  because  it  is  necessary  that  he- 
should  leave  it. 

But  should  it  be  the  same  with  him  in  the  spiritual  world  ? 
Why  should  he  grow  old  there  since  he  is  to  remain  there 
eternally  ?  The  cause  ceasing,  the  effect  must  disappear.  It- 
is  true  that  the  world  of  spirits  is  ^self  but  a  preparatory  state, 
and  man  must  also  leave  it  to  enter  into  his  definitive  spiritual 
state ;  but  this  new  passage  cannot  be  compared,  upon  this 
point,  with  the  first ;  it  is  the  passage  from  one  spiritual  state 
to  another  spiritual  state,  and  not  from  a  place  to  a  spiritual 
state,  such  as  is  the  passage  which  it  performed  by  natural 
death.  Besides,  you  will  presently  acknowledge,  that  to  effect, 
this  new  passage,  far  from  being  obliged  to  grow  old,  the  spirit 
on  the  contrary  must  resume  all  its  powers. 

I  come  now  to  our  question  :  How  does  man  become  young 
again  in  the  spiritual  world  ?  To  render  this  discussion  more 
clear,  let  us  have  recourse  to  examples. 

Let  us  take,  for  the  first  example,  an  old  man  whose  ruling 
love  is  good.  On  leaving  our  earth,  this  old  man  enters  into 
the  world  of  spirits  with  his  own  physiognomy :  his  dotage,  the 
tastes  and  inclinations  of  old  age  follow  him  there,  as  he  is 
then  in  all  the  exteriors  of  his  spirit ;  in  a  word,  he  would  be 
lieve  himself  still  upon  our  earth,  if  where  he  now  lives  he 
were  not  deprived  of  the  sight  of  persons  whom  he  has  left  in 
our  world,  and  if  he  did  not  see  some  of  those  who  have  pre 
ceded  him  into  the  other  life. 

In  his  new  dwelling  place,  what  will  become  of  his  feeble 
spiritual  body?  The  analogy  which  exists  between  the 


206  LETTERS   TO    A 

laws  of  natural  order  and  those  of  spiritual  order  will  inform 
us. 

You  are  not  ignorant  that,  in  our  world,  the  material  body 
is  at  every  instant  subject  to  changes ;  they  are  insensible,  it 
is  true,  but  they  are  not  the  less  real  j  and  strictly  speaking,  it 
may  be  said,  that  our  body  of  to-day  is  not  identically  the  same 
which  we  had  yesterday.  You  know  also  that  these  changes 
are  owing  to  the  continual  loss  which  the  body  sustains  in  its 
exercise,  and  to  the  reparations  which  it  continually  receives 
from  the  atmosphere  which  surrounds  it,  and  the  aliments  by 
which  it  is  nourished. 

Why  should  it  be  otherwise  with  the  spiritual  body  in  the 
world  of  spirits'?  Is  not  this  body  organized  spiritually> 
as  ours  is  materially  ?  Does  it  not  live  upon  an  earth  like  ours, 
covered  also  with  productions  and  surrounded  with  atmos 
pheres'?  Why  should  it  not  exercise  the  same  functions,  and 
be  subject  to  continual  changes  in  consequence  also  of  loss  and 
reparations  ? 

But,  you  will  say,  that  by  these  successive  changes,  in  this 
world,  we  become  old,  while  in  the  other,  on  the  contrary,  if 
we  enter  there  old,  we  shall  become  young ;  whence  this  man 
ifest  opposition  ?  It  proceeds  from  the  characteristic  differ 
ence  of  the  two  worlds.  Here  we  live  in  time,  we  must  there 
fore  be  subject  to  the  laws  of  time ;  thence  the  successive  pe 
riods  which  we  call  ages  of  life.  In  the  other  world,  on  the 
contrary,  as  we  are  completely  set  free  from  the  laws  of  time, 
these  periods  or  ages  of  life  disappear  and  are  succeeded  by 
states.  Created  in  the  image  and  likeness  of  God,  who  is  VERY 
MAN,  our  normal  state  must  be  that  of  a  man,  and  not  that  of 
an  infant  with  whom  the  constitutive  faculties  of  man  are  not 
yet  developed,  nor  that  of  an  old  man  with  whom  these  facul 
ties  have  been  blunted.  Nevertheless,  as  all  that  proceeds 
from  order  is  effected,  as  we  have  seen,  without  violence,  those 
who  enter  as  infants  or  old  men,  into  the  other  life  cannot  but 


MAN   OF   THE    WORLD.  207 

by  degress  attain  to  the  state  of  man,  the  one  by  increasing  in 
stature  and  the  other  by  growing  young  again.  This  is  the 
principle.  Let  us  return  now  to  our  old  man,  and  to  analogy, 
and  we  shall  be  able  to  discover  how  such  a  change  is  effect 
ed.  You  know  that  man  is  continually  governed  by  his  ruling 
love,  and  that  in  the  other  life  this  love  remains  eternally,  with 
out  the  possibility  of  its  ever  being  changed.  As  the  ruling 
love  of  our  old  man  is  good,  this  love  must  remove  succes 
sively  from  his  heart  all  the  bad  affections  which  still  beset  it, 
thus  this  old  man,  although  still  retaining  the  tastes  and  incli 
nations,  which  he  had  when  leaving  our  world,  begins,  from 
the  moment  of  his  entrance  into  the  other  life,  to  profit  by  the 
new  lights  which  he  has  there  acquired,  to  discriminate  atten 
tively  between  the  good  and  eviJ,  and  the  true  and  the  false : 
it  is  thus  that  he  is  able  to  struggle  against  his  bad  affections 
and  to  root  out  his  errors.  He  chooses  with  care  his  societies, 
and  seeks  principally  the  company  of  old  men,  who  are  in  a 
spiritual  state  in  affinity  with  his  own.  Then  the  air  which 
he  breathes  becomes  more  and  more  pure,  the  food  with  which 
he  is  nourished  becomes  more  and  more  healthy. 

Here  you  would  no  doubt  stop  me  to  enquire  if  I  make  use 
of  a  figure  when  I  speak  of  food  in  the  spiritual  world.  No, 
my  dear  sir,  I  am  not  speaking  figuratively,  but  really  of  the 
thing  itself.  And  why  should  you  be  astonished  that  they  eat 
and  drink  in  the  spiritual  world,  since  you  admit  that  they 
breathe  there?  Why  cry  out  against  the  word  substan 
tial  food,  since  you  admit  in  the  other  world  earths,  animals 
of  all  kinds,  fields  with  their  crops,  gardens  with  their  fruit 
trees,  and  in  a  word,  all  that  exists  in  our  world  ?  As  the  man- 
spirit  has  a  spiritual  body,  is  it  not  necessary  that  it  should  be 
nourished "?  Arid  how  could  he  nourish  it  if  he  did  not  make 
use  of  the  products  of  the  spiritual  earth  which  he  inhabits  ? 
But,  you  will  answer,  "  If  I  have  admitted  all  these  things,  it  is 
only,  in  regard  to  spirits,  as  correspondences  of  their  affections 


208  LETTERS   TO    A 

and  thoughts,  and  I  supposed  that  the  nourishment  of  the  man 
spirit  consisted  in  good  affections  and  true  thoughts,  if  he 
was  good  j  in  bad  affections  and  ialse  thoughts,  if  he  was 
wicked."  Well,  it  is  just  so  that  I  understand  it ;  but  observe, 
I  pray  you,  that  it  is  a  principle  that  every  interior  act  man 
ifests  itself  by  an  exterior  act  which  corresponds  to  it.  With 
out  this  manifestation,  the  spiritual  world  would  no  longer  be 
a  world,  and  we  would  then  fall  into  the  systems  of  philoso 
phers  and  theologians  who,  by  idealizing  the  other  life,  have 
presented  to  men  upon  this  subject  ideas  absolutely  chimeri 
cal,  arid  consequently  inadmissible,  which  is  the  reason  why 
there  are  so  few  persons  now  who  believe  in  the  existence  of 
man  after  death.  You  had  consequently  adopted  only  the  in 
terior  part  of  the  fact,  and  entirely  overlooked  its  exterior  part. 
The  man-spirit,  it  is  true,  is  nourished  interiorly  with  affec 
tions  and  thoughts ;  but  as  the  affections  and  thoughts  are  real 
things,  having  substance  and  form,  and  not  imaginary  entities, 
as  philosophy  pretends,  and  besides,  as  the  spiritual  world, 
though  within  the  man-spirit,  is  nevertheless  manifested  ex 
teriorly  to  the  eyes  of  his  spiritual  body,  as  I  have  explained 
to  you  in  my  ninth  letter,  it  is  thence  altogether  evident  that 
the  affections  and  thoughts  with  which  the  man-spirit  is  nour 
ished  interiorly,  manifest  themselves  exteriorly  in  palpable 
aliment  with  which  he  nourishes  his  spiritual  body,  absolutely 
in  the  same  manner  as  we  nourish  our  material  bodies  on  this 
earth. 

I  have  said,  before  this  new  digression,  that  by  degrees  our 
old  man  breathes  a  purer  air,  nourishes  himself  with  healthier 
aliments :  he  breathes  a  purer  air,  because  the  spiritual  atmos 
phere  which  surrounds  spirits  alwajs  corresponds  to  their 
present  state ;  it  becomes  then  purer  for  him  in  the  degree 
that  he  lives  in  society  with  more  upright  spirits :  he  nourislies 
himself  with  healthier  aliments,  for  the  aliments  with  which 
spirits  nourish  their  bodies,  always  correspond  to  their  affcc- 


MAN    OF   THE   WORLD.  209 

tions  and  thoughts  at  the  moment ;  the  solid  aliments  to  their 
affections,  and  the  liquid  aliments  to  their  thoughts ;  they  be 
come  then  healthier  for  him  in  the  degree  that  his  ruling  love 
removes  the  bad  affections  and  false  thoughts.  Thus  his  spir 
itual  body,  at  first  frail,  will  by  degrees  resume  strength  and 
his  strength  will  be  always  increasing,  because  his  affections 
will  be  always  better  and  his  thoughts  always  more  beautiful. 
Add  to  this,  that  man  takes  with  him  into  the  other  world,  all 
his  memory,  and  that  it  is  only  necessary  for  him  to  think  of 
any  fact  whatever  of  his  natural  life,  to  reproduce  all  the  circum 
stances  which  accompanied  it  in  their  least  details,  (13th  let 
ter,)  and  you  will  see  that  our  old  man  must  pass,  in  the  world 
of  spirits,  through  states  analogous  to  those  of  his  terrestrial  life ; 
but  as  his  ruling  love  is  good,  he  will  reject  with  disgust  those 
which  were  impregnated  with  evil  and  the  false,  and  be  de 
lighted  with  those  which  included  the  good  and  the  true. 

All  that  precedes  is,  besides,  conformable  to  the  general 
principles  which  we  have  previously  discussed.  You  know 
that  in  the  whole  spiritual  world  there  exist,  properly  speak 
ing,  only  affections  and  thoughts;  that  these  affections  are 
good  or  bad,  and  these  thoughts  beautiful  or  deformed ;  that 
the  good  affections  and  beautiful  thoughts  proceed  from  good 
itself  and  truth  itself;  and  deformed  affections  and  thoughts 
proceed  from  the  evil  itself  and  the  false  itself,  which  have 
been  introduced  by  the  fall;  that  all  the  innumerable  objects, 
which  specially  constitute  the  world  of  spirits,  or  the  interme 
diate  world,  are  but  various  combinations  of  good  and  bad  af 
fections,  of  true  and  Jalse  thoughts,  and  that  all  these  objects 
are  themselves  modified  in  their  substance  and  form,  by  reason 
of  the  modifications  which  the  affections  and  thoughts  un 
dergo,  of  which  they  are  the  exterior  representations. 

Apply  these  principles  to  the  body  of  the  spirit,  and  you  will 
see  that,  simpty  a  receptacle  as  the  spirit  itself  is,  of  which  it 
is  the  exterior  manifestation,  this  body  should  be  modified  ac- 


210  LETTERS   TO   A 

cording  as  the  spirit  receives  and  appropriates  good  or  evil; 
the  true  or  the  false,  or  in  other  words,  according  as  the  spirit 
receives  and  appropriates  good  or  bad  affections,  true  or  false 
thoughts;  and  then  you  will  be  forced  to  conclude  that  ihe 
spiritual  body  of  the  man-spirit  whose  ruling  love  is  good, 
must  be  continually  strengthened,  will  become  more  and  more 
lovely  in  the  intermediate  world,  until  a  degree  of  perfection  is 
attained  which  will  permit  the  spirit  to  enter  heaven  and  become 
an  angel. 

Thus,  our  old  man  will  not  only  become  young  again,  but 
he  will  besides  partake  of  all  that  constitutes  the  beauty  of  a 
young  man,  whatever  may  have  been  his  visage  or  the  con 
formation  of  his  body  when  living  in  our  world. 

This  conclusion  might  give  rise  to  an  objection  which  it  is 
expedient  to  meet  at  once  :  If  man,  in  the  world  of  spirits,  be 
comes  so  different  from  what  he  was  on  the  earth,  how  can 
we,  on  entering  that  world,  recognize  those  who  have  gone 
there  long  before  us?  The  answer  is  easy  :  Although  the  face 
may  have  undergone  many  modifications,  it  ordinarily  pre 
serves  some  characteristic  feature  ;  arid  in  most  cases,  it  hap 
pens  there,  what  is  very  often  observed  on  this  earth,  that  they 
recognize  one  another  after  a  few  seconds  examination.  If, 
however  the  inspection  of  the  face  were  not  enough,  as  spirits 
retain  all  their  memory,  and  recall  to  their  minds  all  the  events 
of  their  earthly  life,  better  than  on  earth,  (13th  letter,)  it  be 
comes  easy  for  them  to  prove  their  identity,  by  citing  the  most 
minute  details  of  facts  which  passed  between  them  in  our 
world. 

Let  us  take  for  a  second  example  an  old  man  whose  ruling 
love  is  bad.  Entering  into  the  world  of  spirits,  he  also  retains 
his  physiognomy,  his  decrepitude,  his  inclinations  and  tastes, 
as  he  is  in  the  exteriors  of  his  spirit.  His  ruling  love  which 
is  bad.  must  remove  successively  from  his  heart  all  the  good 
affections  which  yet  remain ;  thus  also  on  his  arrival,  this  old 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  211 

man,  far  from  struggling  against  his  bad  passions,  and  seeking 
to  root  out  his  errors,  begins  on  the  contrary,  to  take  a  disgust 
at  good  affections  and  to  ridicule  the  truths  which  he  had  in 
his  memory;  he  disdains  the  society  of  old  men  who  act  and 
speak  with  wisdom,  and  seeks  the  company  of  those  who  are 
in  a  spiritual  state  in  affinity  with  his  own. 

While  this  old  man  lived  in  our  world,  his  bad  passions  had 
been  for  the  most  part  deadened,  so  to  speak,  by  the  frailty  of 
the  material  body,  whose  worn  out  wheel-work  yields  with 
difficulty  to  the  impulse  which  comes  from  the  interior  j  but 
when  he  is  disengaged  from  this  material  body,  they  gradually 
resume  some  strength,  and  afterwards  become  more  and  more 
active,  in  the  degree  that  his  ruling  love  removes  the  few 
good  affections  which  remain  with  him.  Thus  the  air  which 
he  breathes  becomes  heavier,  the  aliments  with  which  he  is 
nourished  become  more  and  more  gross ;  but  nevertheless  his 
spiritual  body,  at  first  feeble,  continually  gains  strength,  for 
his  affections  becoming  more  and  more  violent  and  his  thoughts 
more  and  more  deformed,  the  spiritual  body,  which  is  nothing 
but  their  exterior  manifestation,  becomes  for  that  very  reason 
so  much  the  stronger.  This  old  man  then  also  becomes 
young  again  j  but  far  from  manifesting  the  freshness  of  youth, 
he  becomes  more  and  more  hideous,  and  when  at  last  their  no 
longer  remains  in  him  any  good  affection,  nor  any  true 
thoaghtj  he  precipitates  himself  into  hell  and  becomes  a 
devil. 

From  all  that  precedes,  you  see  that  we  become  young  again 
in  the  other  life.  I  could,  it  is  true,  have  confined  myself  in 
this  discussion  to  presenting  to  you  the  principle,  that  is  to 
say,  to  supporting  myself  only  upon  the  characteristic  differ 
ence  of  the  two  worlds ;  for  it  is  very  evident  that  old  age, 
being  an  accident  inherent  in  time  and  matter,  must  be  dissi 
pated  when  we  are  disengaged  from  the  laws  which  govern 
matter  and  time.  But,  as  in  this  letter  I  have  entered  into 


212  LETTERS    TO   A 

particulars  concerning  the  world  of  spirits,  I  have  dwelt  upon 
the  subject  in  corroborating  the  principle  by  all  the  considera 
tions  which  I.  have  just  presented  to  yon. 

To  complete  this  picture,  it  is  expedient  to  add  a  few  words 
on  the  subject  of  the  child  who  enters  into  the  other  life. 
You  have  already  seen  that  it  there  becomes  a  man,  and  this, 
on  the  sole  consideration  that  God  being  VERY  MAN,  and  hav 
ing  created  man  in  his  image  and  likeness,  to  people  the  spir 
itual  world,  the  normal  state  of  the  spirit  must  necessarily  be 
the  state  of  complete  man.  You  have  seen  also,  that  the  child 
does  not  attain  to  man's  estate  but  by  degrees,  and  in  a  man 
ner  analogous  to  the  growth  of  the  child  in  our  world,  and  this 
because  in  all  that  depends  upon  order  there  is  gradation  }  and 
no  violent  interruption.  I  will  only  add  that  all  those  who  die 
before  they  have  enjoyed  liberty  and  rationality  in  our  world — 
faculties  which  alone  render  man  spiritually  responsible  for 
his  actions — are  all  without  an  exception  taken  to  heaven  and 
become  angels,  when  they  have  by  degrees  attained  to  the 
state  of  complete  manhood.  As  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
infant  increases  in  stature  in  the  spiritual  world,  to  explain  this 
to  you,  it  would  be  necessary  to  enter  into  developments, 
which  you  will  find  in  the  treatise  of  Swedenborg  concerning 
Heaven  and  Hell,  and  principally  in  his  posthumous  treatise 
concerning  the  Divine  Love  and  the  Divine  Wisdom,  where  he 
enters  into  the  most  profound  and  most  interesting  details  con 
cerning  the  formation  of  man. 

My  letters  having  at  length  induced  you  to  undertake  the 
reading  of  the  works  of  Swedenborg,  which  treat  particularly 
of  the  spiritual  world,  it  is  unnecessary  now  for  me  to  enter 
into  other  details  which  relate  to  that  world  j  you  will  find  in 
these  works  all  that  you  can  desire  to  know,  and  your  convic 
tion,  already  formed,  cannot  but  be  more  and  more  corroborated 
by  the  studies  in  which  you  are  about  to  engage. 

But,  my  dear  sir,  I  have  hitherto  only  fulfilled   for  you  the 


MAN    OF    THE   WORLD.  213 

least  difficult  part  of  my  task.  I  promised  to  explain  to  you 
the  doctrines  of  the  True  Christian  Religion,  after  you  have  un 
derstood  and  admitted  the  principles  of  true  religious  philoso 
phy.  I  am  far  from  retracting  my  promise  j  but,  though  you 
now  acknowledge  these  principles,  and  however  strong  may  be 
your  desire  to  proceed  to  the  investigation  of  these  doctrines 
without  delay,  the  exposition  of  them  cannot  however  be  pre 
sented  to  you,  until  after  a  new  preparation,  which  will  oblige 
me  to  enter  into  extensive  developments.  You  are  aware  that 
all  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  repose  upon  what  are  com 
monly  called  the  Sacred  Books,  or  Sacred  Scriptures,  which 
we  by  a  single  expression  call  the  WORD.  Now,  on  the  sub 
ject  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  or  the  WORD,  you  have,  like  all 
men  of  the  world,  a  crowd  of  prejudices,  which  it  is  indispen 
sable  to  root  out.  Though  you  may  have  preserved  for  it 
some  of  that  respect  which  you  were  accustomed  to  pay  to  it 
in  your  childhood,  you  are  far  from  having  the  conviction  that 
it  is  divine  in  all  its  parts;  and  yet  this  conviction  is  abso 
lutely  necessary;  it  is  consequently  necessary  to  make  it  pen 
etrate  deep  into  your  heart  before  I  attempt  to  explain  to  you 
its  doctrines. 

This  is  the  task  which  I  am  about  to  undertake  in  a  second 
series  of  letters.  Accept,  &c. 

10 


0¥  THE 

'UNIVEESI 

LETTERS 
TO  A  MAN  OF  THE  WORLD, 

SECOND  SERIES. 

LETTER  I. 

You  were  conscious,  my  dear  sir,  at  the  commencement  of  oui 
correspondence,  of  a  deep  necessity  of  believing.  Weary  of  an 
incessant  whirl  in  the  empty  void  of  our  philosophers,  and 
scarcely  gaining  a  glimpse  of  any  foundation  on  which  to  stand, 
you  at  length  became  convinced  of  the  nothingness  of  their 
systems ;  but  though  always  on  your  guard  against  the  doc 
trines  of  the  theologians,  who  carry  written  on  their  banners. 
"  Shut  your  eyes  and  believe,"  yet  you  knew  not  how  to  escape 
from  your  painful  position.  You  desired  to  believe,  it  is  true, 
but  you  wished  your  eyes  to  remain  open,  and  on  no  account 
would  you  consent  to  their  being  bandaged ;  you  felt  yourself, 
therefore,  but  little  disposed  to  return  to  the  religious  beliefs  in 
culcated  upon  your  childhood,  and  which  you  put  away  imme 
diately  upon  your  entrance  upon  the  world ;  thus,  despite  of 
your  earnest  desire,  you  saw  yourself  reduced  solely  to  the  be 
lief  in  a  God,  the  Creator  of  the  universe,  and  still,  how  vague 
was  this  belief,  when  you  found  yourself  unable  to  form  any 
idea  of  this  God  !  It  was  then  that,  having  heard  mention  made 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  you  evinced  a  determi 
nation  to  become  acquainted  with  them,  and  for  that  purpose 
saw  fit  to  address  yourself  to  me.  If  I  have  been  agreeably 
surprised  at  your  application,  I  have,  on  the  other  hand,  con 
sidered  it  a  duty  to  respond  to  so  laudable  a  wish,  and  have 


216  LETTERS   TO  A 

therefore  been  prompt  to  enter  upon  the  exposition  which  you 
desired,  endeavoring  at  all  times  to  adapt  myself  to  the  present 
state  of  your  mind,  that  is  to  say,  to  develope  first  in  order  those 
propositions  which  it  would  be  most  easy  for  you  to  admit. 

Although  I  have  as  yet  brought  to  view  but  a  small  part  of 
the  sublime  truths  revealed  by  Swedenborg,  yet  your  position 
has  already  become  essentially  altered ;  your  belief  in  God  has 
risen  from  its  former  vagueness  to  the  strength  of  a  firm  convic 
tion,  and,  to  say  nothing  of  the  great  number  of  truths  you  have 
admitted,  you  have  heard  also  that  man  in  dying  continues  still 
to  be  a  man,  and  merely  passes  from  one  world  into  another, 
altogether  as  real  and  even  more  real  than  the  former.  Here, 
then,  are  certainly  two  points  of  belief,  which,  of  themselves 
alone,  ought  to  effect  a  happy  revolution  in  all  your  ideas,  and 
I  am  not  therefore  at  all  surprised  by  the  intimation,  that  you 
have  experienced  an  inward  satisfaction  and  joy  of  which  you 
had  never  before  been  conscious.  Still  it  is  not  this  which  has 
afforded  me  the  most  pleasure  on  your  account ;  to  believe  in 
God  and  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  is,  it  is  true,  something  ; 
but  this  something  is  reduced  to  near  nothing,  provided  one  goes 
no  farther.  The  circumstance  which  affords  me  most  pleasure 
is,  to  have  become  apprised  of  the  fact  that  you  are  now  con 
scious  of  an  inward  want  no  less  urgent  than  the  former.  Your 
first  want  was  to  believe  j  that  which  you  now  feel  is,  to  become 
really  a  Christian.  You  have  been  struck  with  certain  ideas 
which  I  have  presented  to  you  on  the  subject  of  the  Trinity, 
and  of  Redemption ;  and  now  that  you  have  learned  that  true 
Christianity  acknowledges  but  one  only  God  in  the  single  Per 
son  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  you  experience  a  lively  desire  to 
arrive  at  the  knowledge  of  this  One  True  God.  There  is  here, 
my  dear  sir,  a  very  important  progress,  on  which  I  am  im 
pelled  to  congratulate  you. 

But  to  attain  to  an  interior  conviction  that  the  Lord  is  in 
deed  the  Creator  of  the  Universe,  the  Redeemer  of  men,  and 


MAN    OF  THE  WORLD.  217 

their  Regenerator— that  is  to  say,  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit — you  have  still  much  ground  to  travel  over  ;  for  you 
have  still  many  prejudices  to  overcome,  many  philosophical 
errors  to  extirpate,  and  a  great  number  of  truths  to  admit.  We 
cannot  advance  otherwise  than  very  slowly,  for  you,  doubtless, 
desire  that,  in  this  second  series,  I  should  continue  to  follow 
the  course  adopted  in  the  first ;  that  is  to  say,  that  I  shall 
all  along  address  myself  to  your  intelligence,  as  is  also  my  in 
tention.  The  intelligence,  or,  rather,  the  understanding,  is  in 
fact,  one  of  the  two  faculties  which  constitute  man ;  it  is  the 
torch  which  enlightens  his  will.  Without  intelligence  man 
would  not  be  man ;  and  to  pretend  that  he  is  to  forego  the  use 
of  it,  in  dealing  with  religious  questions,  is  to  propose  that  man 
should  renounce  one  of  the  most  precious  gifts  of  the  Creator, 
that  faculty  which  distinguishes  him  from  the  brutes,  and  by 
which  alone  he  can  know  and  admire  his  God.  I  shall,  there 
fore,  be  especially  on  my  guard  against  demanding  of  you  the 
sacrifice  of  your  intelligence  ;  yet,  as  the  intimate  conviction 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  God  of  the  universe 
springs  from  genuine  faith,  this  is  the  moment  for  recalling  to 
your  recollection  certain  expressions  in  my  First  Letter,  on  the 
subject  of  the  conviction  which  one  acquires  by  reasoning :  "Be 
it  well  remembered  that,  however  strong  this  conviction  may 
be,  nevertheless  it  will  not  be  faith ;  but  it  will  conduct  you  to 
the  faith  which  God  alone  gives  to  man,  when  man  is  prepared 
to  receive  it." 

Thus  you  have  been  already  instructed  that  there  is  a  dis 
tinction  to  be  made  between  a  conviction  acquired  by  reasoning, 
and  to  which  the  name  of  faith  is  often  given,  and  the  true  faith 
which  the  Lord  alone  bestows  upon  man.  In  the  position  which 
you  now  occupy,  with  the  precautions  that  ought  still  to  abide 
with  you,  it  is  evidently  needful  that  you  first  acquire,  by  hu 
man  means,  a  strong  conviction  before  you  will  be  able  to  receive 
a  true  faith.  This  faith  is  not  given  arbitrarily,  nor  in  an  instant, 

10 


218  LETTERS  TO   A 

as  many  suppose.  Those  who  think  to  have  thus  received  faith 
are  in  the  greatest  delusion,  and  have  only  an  enthusiastic  faith, 
which  is  therefore  rather  injurious  than  advantageous  to  them, 
hecause  it  does  not  come  to  them  of  the  Lord.  God  never  de 
parts  from  the  laws  of  his  Divine  Order,  which  are  the  laws  of 
eternal  justice  ;  but  the  first  notions  of  human  justice,  which  is 
merely  a  reflection  of  the  Divine  Justice,  do  they  not  declare  that 
a  father  would  he  unjust  who  should  distribute  arbitrarily  his 
goods  among  his  children  ?  How,  then,  can  we  suppose  that 
God,  who  is  Justice  itself  and  the  common  Father  of  men,  should 
arbitrarily  bestow  faith  ?  If  faith  could  be  given  without  some 
kind  of  co-operation  on  the  part  of  man,  He  would  certainly  give 
it  to  all  without  exception.  As  to  the  conditions  in  which  man 
ought  to  be,  in  order  to  be  enabled  to  receive  true  faith,  you 
will  see  very  soon,  that  they  lie  principally  in  his  interior  life, 
or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  in  the  love  which  directs  his  actions  ; 
so  far  as  man  remains  in  the  love  of  self,  it  is  impossible  for  him 
to  obtain  true  faith,  but  the  moment  that  he  compels  himself  to 
resist  this  love,  and  to  live  devoutly,  he  becomes  capable  of  re 
ceiving  it. 

Nevertheless,  true  faith,  of  which  the  principal  point  consists 
in  the  recognition  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  God  who  has 
created  the  universe, — this  faith,  I  say,  cannot  be  received  by 
man  unless  he  believes  sincerely  in  the  Divinity  of  the  Sacred 
Scripture,  or  of  the  Word ;  and  it  is  on  this  account  that  this 
series  of  letters  will  be,  as  I  have  already  intimated,  devoted  to 
proving  that  the  Word  is  divine  in  every  part. 

But  since,  in  the  position  in  which  you  now  stand,  it  is  neces 
sary  that  you  acquire  a  strong  conviction,  before  hoping  to 
attain  a  true  faith,  I  am  in  duty  bound  to  neglect  no  means 
which  may  at  present  tend  to  prepare  you  for  this  result  j  I  shall, 
with  this  view,  submit  to  your  notice  certain  passages  of  Swe- 
denborg,  taken  from  the  Arcana  Ccdestia :  you  will  then  see 
that,  although  man  is  not  interdicted  the  use  of  his  intelligence 


MAN  OF  THE  WORLD.  219 

while  dealing  with  the  doctrine  of  faith,  it  is  at  least  necessary 
that  he  should  be  interiorly  in  a  suitable  state ;  as  otherwise  the 
use  that  he  makes  of  his  intelligence,  far  from  benefitting,  will 
be  positively  injurious  to  him.  I  earnestly  solicit  your  whole 
attention  to  these  passages ;  you  will  meet  in  them,  it  is  true, 
certain  new  terms,  or  terms  taken  in  a  new  sense ;  but  in  the 
main  they  so  carry  their  import  with  them,  that  you  will  have 
little  difficulty  in  grasping  it.  Swedenborg  as  is  permitted  in  every 
new  science,  has  had  recourse  to  neology,  but  still  without  in 
the  least  abusing  it ;  and,  if  you  will  allow  this  slight  digression, 
I  would  add,  that  it  is  important  to  consecrate  these  new  terms 
in  our  modern  languages,  and  to  endeavor  even,  at  all  times, 
to  translate  them  literally ;  to  allow  the  least  paraphrase  in  the 
text  would  be  to  incur  the  risk  of  misconstruction  j  there  is  not, 
in  fact,  a  single  word  in  the  writings  of  Swedenborg  which  does 
not  suit  its  place,  and  for  which  another  could  well  be  substi 
tuted,  for  he  always  employs  the  proper  term. 

"  To  respect  the  doctrine  of  faith,"  cays  Swedenborg,  "  from 
rationals,  is  very  different  from  respecting  rationals  from  the 
doctrine  of  faith ;  to  respect  the  doctrine  of  faith  from  rationals, 
is  not  to  believe  the  Word,  or  doctrine  thence  deduced,  be 
fore  there  is  a  persuasion  wrought  from  rationals  that  it  is  true  ; 
whereas  to  respect  rationals  from  the  doctrine  of  faith,  is  first 
to  believe  the  Word,  or  doctrine  thence,  and  afterwards  to  con 
firm  the  same  by  rationals  j  the  former  case  is  inverted  order, 
and  effects  that  nothing  is  believed,  but  the  latter  case  is  genuine 
order,  and  effects  a  better  belief. 

"There  are,  therefore,  two  principles,  one  which  leads  to  all 
folly  and  madness,  another  which  leads  to  all  intelligence  and 
wisdom ;  the  former  principle  is  to  deny  all  things,  as  when  a  man 
says  in  his  heart  that  he  cannot  believe  such  things,  until  he  is 
convinced  by  what  he  can  comprehend,  or  be  sensible  of ;  this 
principle  is  what  leads  to  all  folly  and  madness,  and  may  be  called 
the  negative  principle ;  the  other  principle  is  to  affirm  the  things 


220  LETTERS    TO   A 

which  are  of  doctrine  from  the  Word,  as  when  a  man  think  sand 
believes  with  himself  that  they  are  true  because  the  Lord  has 
said  so ;  this  principle  is  what  leads  to  all  intelligence  and  wis 
dom,  and  may  be  called  the  affirmative  principle.  They  who 
think  from  the  negative  principle,  the  more  they  consult  things 
rational,  scientific,  and  philosophical,  do  but  so  much  the  more 
plunge  themselves  into  darkness,  till  at  length  they  come  to  deny 
all  things;  the  reason  is,  because  no  one  can  from  things  inferior 
comprehend  things  superior,  that  is,  things  spiritual  and  celestial, 
still  less  things  Divine,  inasmuch  as  they  transcend  all  under 
standing  :  and  moreover  in  such  case,  all  things  are  involved  in 
negatives  from  the  principle  :  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  who 
think  from  the  affirmative  principle,  may  confirm  themselves  in 
things  spiritual  and  celestial  by  whatever  rationals,  by  what 
ever  scientifics,  yea,  by  philosophical,  as  far  as  lies  in  their 
power,  all  such  things  being  given  them  for  confirmation,  and 
affording  them  fuller  ideas.  Moreover,  there  are  some  persons, 
who  are  in  doubt  before  they  deny,  and  there  are  others,  who 
are  in  doubt  before  they  affirm  ;  they  who  are  in  doubt  before 
they  deny,  are  those  who  incline  to  a  life  of  evil,  and  when  this 
life  bears  them  away,  then  as  much  as  they  think  concerning 
things  spiritual  and  celestial,  so  much  they  deny  ;  but  they  who 
are  in  doubt  before  they  affirm,  are  those  who  incline  to  a  life 
of  good,  to  which  life  when  they  suffer  themselves  to  be  bent  by 
the  Lord,  then  as  much  as  they  think  concerning  those  things, 
so  much  they  affirm  them."  A.  C.,  n.  2568. 

"  They  who  are  in  the  negative  principle  in  regard  to  the  truth 
of  what  is  in  the  Word,  saying  in  their  hearts,  that  they  will  then 
believe,  when  they  are  persuaded  by  rationals  and  scientifics, 
are  in  such  a  state,  that  they  never  believe,  not  even  when  con 
vinced  by  the  sensuals  of  the  body,  as  by  the  sight,  the  hearing, 
and  the  touch,  for  they  always  frame  new  reasonings  against 
such  convictions,  whereby  at  length  they  totally  extinguish  all 
faith,  and  at  the  same  time  turn  the  light  of  the  rational  into  dark- 


MAN   OF  THE   WORLD.  221 

ness,  because  into  falses.  But  they  who  are  in  the  affirmative 
principle,  that  is,  who  believe  what  is  in  the  Word  to  be  true, 
because  the  Lord  has  declared  it,  are  in  such  a  state  that  by  ra- 
tionals  and  scientifics,  yea  by  sensuals,  they  are  continually  con 
firmed  and  their  ideas  illustrated  and  corroborated  ;  this  is  the 
case  with  every  one  who  is  in  the  affirmative  principle,  for  man 
has  light  from  no  other  source  than  by  means  of  rationals  and 
scientifics." — A.  C.,  n.  2588. 

Swedenborg  gives,  in  the  same  article,  a  number  of  illustrative 
examples  ;  I  will  .transcribe  only  one  of  them. 

According  to  the  doctrine  of  the  "Word,  the  first  and  princi 
pal  thing  of  doctrine  is  love  to  the  Lord  and  charity  towards  the 
neighbor  ;  they  who  are  in  the  affirmative  in  this,  may  enter  into 
whatever  rationals  and  scientifics,  yea,  sensuals,  they  please> 
every  one  according  to  his  gift,  his  science,  and  his  experience, 
yea,  the  more  they  enter,  the  more  they  are  confirmed,  for  uni 
versal  nature  is  full  of  confirmation.  But  they  who  deny  this 
first  and  principal  of  doctrine,  and  wish  first  to  be  convinced 
that  it  is  so,  by  scientifics  and  rationals,  never  suffer  themselves 
to  be  convinced,  because  they  deny  in  heart,  and  continually  in 
sist  on  some  other  principle,  which  they  believe  essential :  at 
length  by  confirmations  of  their  own  principle,  they  so  blind 
themselves,  that  they  cannot  even  know  what  love  to  the  Lord 
is  and  what  love  towards  the  neighbor  is  ;  and  inasmuch  as  they 
confirm  themselves  in  things  contrary  thereto,  they  also  finally 
confirm  themselves  in  this,  that  there  cannot  be  any  other  love 
attended  with  delight,  but  the  love  of  self  and  of  the  world,  and 
their  confirmation  herein  is  such,  that,  if  not  in  doctrine,  yet  in 
life,  they  embrace  infernal  love,  instead  of  heavenly  love.  But 
with  those,  who  are  neither  in  the  negative,  nor  in  the  affirma 
tive,  but  in  a  doubting  (principle)  before  they  deny  or  affirm,  the 
case  is  as  was  said  above,  n.  2568,  viz.,  that  they  who  incline 
to  a  life  of  evil,  fall  into  the  negative  principle,  but  they  who 
incline  to  a  life  of  good,  are  led  into  the  affirmative." 


222  LETTERS  TO  A 

Your  actual  position,  my  dear  sir,  seems  to  me  to  be  indicated 
with  sufficient  clearness  in  these  passages.  It  is  certain  that  you 
are  not  in  the  Affirmative  on  the  subject  of  the  Word,  since  you 
do  not  admit  that  it  has  been  uttered  by  God  himself.  It  is  cer 
tain  also  that  you  are  not  in  the  Negative,  since,  under  the  con 
scious  need  of  becoming  really  a  Christian,  you  have  reached 
the  point  of  desiring  to  recognise  the  Divinity  of  the  Word, 
which  forms  the  basis  of  Christianity  ;  it  is,  therefore,  the  Dubi- 
tative  position  that  you  now  occupy.  If  you  were  in  doubt  be 
fore  denial,  I  should  anxiously  avoid  attempting  to  convince  you 
of  the  Divinity  of  the  Word,  for  in  that  case,  I  should  be  really 
culpable  in  directing  your  meditations  to  a  subject  like  this, 
without  any  probability  of  success ;  but  as  everything  evinces 
that  you  are  in  doubt  before  affirming,  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
present  to  you  the  means  of  emerging  from  this  doubt,  and  of 
arriving  in  the  end  at  a  complete  conviction  of  the  Divinity  of 
the  Word. 

I  shall  follow,  then,  in  this  new  discussion,  the  course  which 
I  have  all  along  adopted  in  the  former.  It  is  not  by  employing  the 
common  places  of  the  old  theology  that  one  can  hope  to  con 
vince  on  this  point  a  man  of  the  world,  as  experience  has  but 
too  well  shown  their  utter  impotency  for  such  a  purpose  ;  but 
the  end  may  be  gained  by  a  successive  development  of  the  sub 
lime  truths  revealed  by  Swedenborg.  As  to  yourself,  my  dear 
sir,  when  you  have  learned  these  truths,  you  will  believe  in  the 
Word,  as  you  have  believed  in  the  God-Man  ;  as  you  have  be 
lieved  in  a  soul  in  the  human  form ;  in  a  word,  as  you  have  be 
lieved  in  another  world,  composed  of  spiritual  substances  and 
forms.  You  will  then  be  fully  in  the  Affirmative  principle,  and 
you  will  be  able,  without  difficulty  or  danger,  to  make  use  of  the 
Rationals,  Scientifics,  and  Philosophies,  which  will  furnish  you 
with  new  confirmatory  proofs ;  hut  in  the  mean  time,  while  this 
process  of  conviction  is  going  on,  I  have  one  thing  to  aak  of  you, 
and  that  for  your  own  sake,  which  is,  that  you  would  unceas- 


A   MAN   OF  THE   WORLD  223 

ingly  bestow  the  greatest  attention  upon  the  subject  matter  of 
the  various  passages  which  I  shall  cite. 

Accept,  &c 


LETTER  II. 

IF  I  have  suffered  a  long  time  to  elapse  between  my  last  letter 
and  this,  it  is  not,  my  dear  sir,  without  a  motive,  as  you  may 
presume.  Before  entering  upon  a  subject  so  important  as  that 
which  is  going  to  occupy  our  attention,  it  was  the  part  of  pru 
dence  to  allow  you  time  for  mature  reflection  upon  the  passages 
of  Swedenborg  which  I  had  cited.  Everything  proved  to  me, 
in  truth,  that  you  were  rather  in  doubt  before  affirming,  than  in 
doubt  before  denying  ;  but,  nevertheless,  that  the  proof  might  be 
complete,  I  desired  to  receive  from  you  a  formal  declaration.  I 
have  now,  since,  after  sufficient  examination,  you  have  acknowl- 
edge4  yourself  that  you  were  led  to  the  study  of  religious  matters, 
not  by  mere  curiosity,  but  by  an  urgent  necessity  of  knowing 
your  God,  the  most  perfect  conviction  that  you  are  in  an  affir 
mative  state,  and  hence  am  ready  to  enter  with  you  upon  the 
examination  of  the  Bible,  or  the  Word,  in  order  to  dissipate 
your  doubts  upon  its  sanctity,  and  to  convince  you  that  it  is 
really  the  Word  of  God,  and,  consequently,  Divine  in  all  its  parts. 

I  will  commence  this  examination  by  an  expose  of  the  Word, 
presenting  it  to  you  from  the  origin  of  all  things,  and  giving  you, 
BO  to  speak,  its  history  down  to  the  present  time. 

If  you  will  recur  to  what  was  said  upon  the  Creation  in  the 
preceding  letters,  you  will  find  that  the  universe  emanated  from 
Divine  Love,  but  that  it  is  by  Divine  Wisdom  that  it  was  formed 
or  created.  This  is  still  farther  evident  from  the  fact,  that  with 
out  the  operation  of  Divine  Wisdom  the  universe  could  not  pos- 
10* 


224  LETTERS   TO  A 

sibly  have  existed ;  for  the  emanations  of  Love  could  have  been 
neither  distinct  nor  varied :  or,  in  other  words,  there  would  have 
been  no  objects,  and,  consequently,  no  creation,  because  there 
would  have  been  no  forms;  it  is  Love  that  furnished  the  sub 
stances,  but  it  is  by  Wisdom  that  each  substance  was  clothed 
with  a  form  which  constituted  its  existence ;  thus  the  universe 
owes  its  being  to  Divine  Love,  and  its  existence  to  Divine 
Wisdom.  t 

Hence,  when  it  is  said  in  John  i.  1,  3, — "  In  the  beginning  the 
Word  was  with  God,  and  all  things  were  made  by  It,"  it  is  very 
evident  that  by  the  Word  nothing  else  is  meant  than  the  Divine 
Wisdom. 

The  Word  [La  Parole],  or  Divine  Wisdom,  by  which  all 
things  were  made,  is  what  the  Greeks  called  iogo.s,  the  Latins, 
Verbum,  and  what  is  generally  called,  at  the  present  day,  the 
Word  \le  Verbs'].  Taken  in  this  sense,  you  can  by  no  means 
doubt  that  the  Word  is  Divine  ;  but  when  you  consider  the  writ 
ten  Book,  to  which  the  name  Word  is  given,  you  question  with 
yourself  its  Divinity,  because  you  do  not  seize  upon  the  identity 
of  this  Book  with  the  Word  by  which  all  things  were  created ; 
and  yet  the  identity  is  perfect,  as  you  may  be  convinced  by  the 
sequel  of  this  expose. 

Since  the  Word  has  caused  the  existence  of  the  universe,  or 
has  created  it,  it  is  also  the  Word  which  causes  it  to  subsist,  or 
preserves  it ;  for  preservation  is  perpetual  creation,  just  as  sub 
sistence  is  perpetual  existence.  In  order  to  preserve  the  uni 
verse,  the  Word  is  everywhere  in  action,  and  in  all  things  it 
acts  according  to  the  recipient,  that  is,  according  to  the  confor 
mation  of  the  thing  which  receives,  and  according  to  the  use  for 
which  it  was  created  ;  viz. :  in  every  object  of  the  mineral  king 
dom,  according  to  its  form  and  its  use,  as  also  in  every  vegetable, 
in  every  animal,  and  likewise  in  man  j  but  with  man,  whose 
form  is  the  image  of  God,  and  whose  use  is  to  become  an  angel 
of  heaven,  it  acts  with  plenitude. 


MAN    OF  THE  WORLD.  225 

In  the  earliest  times,  when  everything  was  still  in  a  state  of 
integrity,  the  Word  found  nowhere  the  least  obstacle  to  its  re 
ception,  and  everything  then  maintained  itself  in  order ;  the  hu 
man  receptacles  were  continually  open,  and  nothing  prevented 
the  Divine  Wisdom  from  penetrating  them.  Men,  thus  directed 
by  the  Word,  lived  happily  upon  the  earths  by  conforming  them 
selves  to  the  laws  of  Divine  Order,  and  when  they  laid  aside 
their  mortal  bodies  they  found  themselves  immediately  in  the 
heavens. 

Such  were  the  men  upon  our  earth  who  constituted  the  Most 
Ancient  Church,  designated  in  Genesis  under  the  name  of  Adam 
or  Man.  "  In  the  Most  Ancient  Church,"  says  Swedenborg,  "  the 
Word  was  not  written,  but  was  revealed  to  every  one  who  was 
of  the  church,  for  they  were  celestial  men,  thus  in  the  perception 
of  good  and  truth  like  the  angels,  with  whom  also  they  had  fel 
lowship  ;  thus  they  had  the  Word  written  in  their  hearts.  And 
inasmuch  as  they  were  celestial,  and  in  society  with  angels,  all 
things  which  they  saw  and  apprehended  by  any  sense  were  to 
them  representative  and  significative  of  things  celestial  and 
spiritual,  which  are  in  the  Lord's  kingdom  ;  so  that  they  saw 
indeed  worldly  and  terrestrial  things  with  their  eyes,  or  appre 
hended  them  by  their  other  senses,  but  from  them  and  by  them 
they  thought  concerning  things  celestial  and  spiritual :  it  was 
for  this  cause,  and  not  otherwise,  that  they  were  able  to  speak 
with  angels,  for  the  things  which  are  with  the  angels  are  celes 
tial  and  spiritual,  and  when  they  present  themselves  to  man, 
they  fall  into  such  things  as  are  with  man  in  the  world." — A. 
C.,  n.  2896. 

You  may  readily  obtain  an  account  oftthe  state  of  these  men, 
if  you  will  recur  to  what  was  said  of  the  spirit  of  man,  and  of 
the  correspondence  of  the  things  of  the  spiritual  world  with 
those  of  the  natural  world,  in  the  preceding  letters.  You  have 
seen  there  that  man  has  in  himself  the  spiritual  world,  and  that 
this  world  is  manifested  exteriorly  before  him  as  often  as  his 


226  LETTERS   TO   A 

spiritual  man  is  open.  Now,  with  the  men  of  the  Most  Ancient 
Church,  the  spiritual  man  was  constantly  open,  and  it  was  for 
this  cause  that  they  were  in  society  with  the  angels,  not  with 
all  indiscriminately,  hut  with  those  who  were  at  the  moment  in 
their  spiritual  man ;  hence  they  saw  them  face  to  face,  as  man 
in  the  world  sees  his  fellow-man.  When  they  conversed  with 
them,  the  angels,  who  were  not  in  the  least  occupied  with  worldly 
and  terrestrial  things,  spake  of  celestial  and  spiritual  things  in 
angelic  language  which  was  entirely  unintelligible  to  man  ;  but, 
in  consequence  of  the  correspondence  of  the  things  of  heaven 
with  those  of  the  earth,  the  expressions  which  they  used  were 
changed  for  man  into  analogous  expressions  concerning  the 
world ;  and  as  man  then  understood  correspondences  perfectly, 
and  consequently  had  a  full  understanding  of  representatives  and 
significati-ves,  he  immediately  apprehended  in  these  worldly  and 
terrestrial  expressions  the  celestial  and  spiritual  things  which 
they  contained. 

Thus,  with  these  men  of  the  Most  Ancient  Church,  Divine 
Wisdom,  which  is  the  ensemble  of  all  the  laws  of  Divine  order, 
was  graven  interiorly  upon  the  depth  o-f  their  heart,  and  inscribed 
exteriorly  upon  natural  objects  and  natural  events  ;  entire  nature 
was  with  them  the  book  of  God,  or  the  representative  theatre  of 
the  Lord's  kingdom,  and  each  object,  each  event,  was  a  leaf  of 
that  admirable  book  in  which  they  read  fluently.  That  book, 
always  displayed  before  their  eyes  and  engraven  upon  their  heart, 
was  the  Word,  inasmuch  as  it  contained  the  Divine  Wisdom. 

If  man  had  always  remained  in  the  state  in  which  he  was 
when  the  Most  Ancient  Church  flourished,  the  operation  of  the 
Word  would  always  have  made  itself  felt  in  the  same  manner  j 
but  man  having  been  endowed  with  free-will,  that  is  to  say,  with 
the  liberty  of  following  the  laws  of  order  or  of  breaking  them, 
there  came  a  time  when  the  men  of  the  Most  Ancient  Church 
began  to  deviate  from  the  laws  of  Divine  Order;  from  that  mo 
ment  the  perception  which  they  had  of  good  and  truth,  and 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  227 

which  was  to  them  the  Word  graven  upon  the  heart,  became 
less  clear,  for  by  infraction  upon  the  laws  of  order  their  spirit 
ual  man  became  closed,  and  no  longer  afforded  the  same  access 
to  the  Divine  Wisdom  ;  and  the  more  their  descendants  deviated 
from  these  laws,  the  more  obscure  their  perception  became  ; 
until  finally,  this  infraction  having  arrived  at  extremes,  their 
spiritual  man  was  entirely  closed,  the  Divine  Wisdom  had  no 
longer  any  way  of  entrance  to  them,  and  this  most  Ancient 
Church  totally  perished,  which  is  represented  in  Genesis  by  the 
Deluge. 

The  destruction  of  this  church  must  necessarily  have  been 
followed  by  that  of  the  entire  human  race,  if  the  Lord  had  not 
instituted  a  new  church,  designated  in  Genesis  by  the  name  of 
Noah,  which  is  called  the  Ancient  Church,  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  preceding.  In  fact,  if  the  Word  or  Divine  Wisdom  did  not 
penetrate  men,  or  at  least  some  of  those  constituted  into  a  church, 
the  human  race  could  not  possibly  subsist ;  for  men  would  lose 
all  idea  of  good  and  truth,  of  justice  and  equity,  of  honesty  and 
decency  ;  they  would  act  contrary  to  all  the  laws  of  Divine  Or 
der,  and  would  finally  become  reduced  to  utter  destruction.  But 
the  Lord  never  leaves  men  without  a  church,  and  when  the  last 
which  He  had  instituted  is  destroyed,  he  institutes  another,  as 
will  be  shown  in  the  sequel  of  this  expos<5  ;  for  if  the  human 
race  should  entirely  perish,  as  it  is  the  only  seminary  of  the 
heavens,  it  would  follow  that  the  heavens, — destined,  by  reason 
of  the  infinity  of  God,  to  receive  perpetually  and  indefinitely 
new  inhabitants,  without  ever  being  filled, — would  receive  no 
more,  and  would  become  limited  in  population  ;  which  would 
be  in  manifest  opposition  with  the  love  of  God,  for  whom  the 
natural  world  is  only  a  means  of  indefinitely  and  perpetually 
creating  beings  capable  of  loving  their  Creator.  Moreover,  you 
have  seen  elsewhere  that  spiritual  beings  and  men  could  not 
subsist  without  each  other. 

In  order  that  a  new  church  might  be  instituted,  it  was  ne- 


228  LETTERS  TO  A 

cessary  that  the  Word  should  be  received  among  some  men 
who  were  less  depraved  than  the  rest ;  but  as  the  Word  could  not 
be  engraven  upon  their  heart,  inasmuch  as, — their  spiritual  man 
being  closed,  and  the  evil  and  the  false  operating  against  its  being 
opened, — they  could  have  no  perception  of  the  good  and  the  true, 
it  manifested  itself  to  them  by  another  kind  of  dictate,  which 
may  be  called  Conscience.  Thus,  instead  of  perception,  they 
had  conscience,  which  is  comparatively  very  obscure,  and  in 
stead  of  being  celestial,  like  the  men  of  the  Most  Ancient 
Church,  they  were  spiritual :  their  state  was  entirely  different 
from  that  of  the  most  ancient  people,  for  they  had  with  heaven 
only  a  communication  of  which  they  had  no  knowledge.  The 
Divine  Wisdom,  it  is  true,  did  not  cease  to  be  inscribed  upon  nat 
ural  objects,  even  in  the  least  natural  events ;  for  nature,  on 
her  part  not  vitiated  by  the  fall  of  man,  never  ceased  to  be  the 
representative  theatre  of  the  Lord's  kingdom  ;  but  the  spiritual 
man  being  no  longer  open,  and  the  Word  manifesting  itself  no 
longer  to  the  interiors,  except  by  conscience,  it  was  indispen 
sably  necessary  that  this  new  church,  in  order  to  be  a  guide 
for  conscience,  should  have  exteriorly  a  fixed  rule ;  then  the 
Word  [Verbe]  became  the  written  Word  [Paro/e],  without 
however  ceasing  to  be  the  same  [Word],  that  is,  without  ceas 
ing  to  be  the  Divine  Wisdom,  as  you  will  see. 

The  Lord,  in  his  foreknowledge  of  the  fall  of  the  celestial 
church,  had  provided  the  means  of  instituting  a  spiritual 
church  ;  and  as  the  spiritual  man,  deprived  of  perception,  could 
not  be  enlightened  in  the  same  manner  as  the  celestial  man,  his 
Divine  Providence  had  caused  to  be  preserved,  from  the  very 
commencement  of  the  degradation  of  the  Most  Ancient  Church, 
some  doctrinals  of  faith  and  some  revelations  of  that  church  fo^ 
the  use  of  the  new  church.  These  doctrinals,  at  first  collected 
by  men  designated  in  Genesis  under  the  name  of  Cain,  were 
put  in  reserve,  that  they  might  not  be  lost :  this  is  what  is 
meant  when  it  is  said,  "  that  a  mark  was  put  upon  Cain  that  no 


MAN   OF  THE   WORLD  229 

one  might  kill  him." — iv.  15.  At  a  later  period  representatives 
and  significatives  were  collected  into  a  compilation  of  doctrine 
by  other  men  designated  in  Genesis  under  the  name  of  Enoch  ; 
and  as  this  doctrine  was  to  serve  for  posterity,  and  not  to  be 
used  at  that  time,  it  is  said  that  "  God  took  Enoch." — v.  24. 

The  written  Word  that  was  given  to  the  Ancient  Church  was 
derived  from  this  origin  ;  it  was  composed  of  recitals,  all  of 
which,  even  to  the  least  word,  were  representative  and  signi 
ficative  of  things  celestial  and  spiritual,  and,  consequently, 
contained  the  laws  of  Divine  Order.  Thus  the  Word,  instead 
of  being  read  fluently  [courammenf],  as  in  the  Most  Ancient 
Church,  upon  the  objects  of  nature  and  in  natural  events,  was 
read  in  a  compilation  written  according  to  the  correspondences 
of  the  earth  with  heaven  ;  it  was  therefore  always  the  Divine 
Wisdom  itselfj  but  that  Divine  Wisdom  was  found  in  a  natural 
envelope,  or,  rather,  it  was,  as  an  inestimable  treasure,  inclosed 
in  a  casket  whose  key  was  then  in  the  hands  of  men  ;  the  casket 
was  the  literal  sense  of  the  representatives  and  significatives, 
and  the  key  the  science  of  correspondences ;  by  this  science, 
which  was  universally  disseminated  in  the  Ancient  Church,  the 
men  of  that  church  knew  what  the  representatives  and  signifi 
catives  contained  j  but  they  differed  from  the  men  of  the  Most 
Ancient  Church,  inasmuch  as  they  had  no  perception  of  them, 
— they  merely  derived  from  them  a  doctrine  for  the  guidance  of 
their  spiritual  life. 

That  you  may  have  a  better  apprehension  of  this  difference, 
I  will  quote  the  following  passage  from  Swedenborg : — "  To 
know  by  perception  and  to  apprehend  by  doctrine  are  very  dif 
ferent  things  j  they  who  know  by  perception  have  no  need  of 
the  knowledge  acquired  by  means  of  systematized  doctrines ; 
let  us  take  an  example  which  will  illustrate  this  point  j  he  who 
knows  how  to  think  well  has  no  occasion  to  be  taught  to  think 
by  any  rules  of  art ;  for  in  this  way  he  would  lose  his  faculty 
of  thinking  well,  as  is  the  case  with  those  who  grovel  along  in 


230  LETTERS    TO    A 

scholastic  dust.  Those  who  act  from  perception  receive  from 
the  Lord  the  faculty  of  knowing  by  an  internal  way  what  is 
good  and  true,  whilst  those  who  act  from  doctrine  derive  their 
knowledge  of  such  things  through  an  external  way,  or  by 
means  of  the  corporeal  senses ;  the  difference  between  these 
two  ways  is  like  that  between  light  and  shade.  Moreover,  the 
perceptions  of  the  celestial  man  are  wholly  indescribable,  for 
they  extend  to  the  most  minute  and  particular  things,  with  the 
greatest  variety,  according  to  states  and  circumstances." — A.  C., 
n.  521. 

As  regards  this  written  Word  of  the  Ancient  Church,  only  a 
few  fragments  of  it,  which  are  found  in  the  books  of  Moses, 
are  known,  tor  it  was  lost  in  the  course  of  time  ;  it  consisted, 
like  the  Word  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments,  of  both  his 
torical  and  prophetical  books  ;  the  historical  books  being  called 
the  Wars  of  Jehovah,  and  the  prophetical,  the  Enunciations. — 
Numb,  xxi.,  14,  27.  Finally,  the  historical  narrations,  being 
written  in  the  prophetical  style,  were  factitious,  for  the  most 
part,  like  those  in  Genesis  from  the  1st  to  the  llth  chapter. — 
A.  C.,  n.  2897. 

The  Ancient  Church  extended  over  the  greater  part  of  the 
globe,  and  flourished  principally  in  Syria,  the  land  of  Canaan, 
Mesopotamia,  Arabia,  Chaldea,  Assyria,  Egypt,  Nineveh,  Tyre 
and  Sidon.  Whilst  the  men  of  that  Church  followed  the  laws 
of  Order,  they  preserved  the  key  of  that  Word  ;  that  is,  they 
knew  by  the  science  of  correspondences  what  the  representa 
tives  and  significatives,  of  which  it  was  composed,  contained; 
as  these  representatives  and  significatives  contained  Divine 
things,  they  were  reduced  among  them  into  practice,  and  were 
applied  to  their  Divine  Worship  ;  and  this  was  done  that  there 
might  be  a  communication  with  heaven;  since  things  in  the 
world  represent  and  signify  analogous  things  in  heaven.  But. 
from  the  moment  the  Ancients  deviated  from  the  laws  of  Order, 
they  departed  from  the  true  meaning  of  correspondences ;  and 


MAN  OF  THE  WORLD.  231 

when  they  became  entirely  abandoned  to  the  love  of  self  and 
the  world,  the  science  of  correspondences  was  lost,  and  their 
worship  became  wholly  idolatrous. 

At  the  fall  of  this  Ancient  Church  men  had  become  so  exter 
nal  that  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  institute  a  new  churcti ; 
for  they  would  have  been  incapable  of  comprehending  the  in 
ternals  of  worship ;  and  even  if  they  could  have  compre 
hended  them,  they  were  in  such  a  state  of  depravity,  that  they 
would  have  profaned  them.  At  that  time,  that  there  might 
always  be  a  communication  between  heaven  and  earth,  and 
that  by  this  means  the  human  race  might  be  preserved,  the  Lord 
instituted  a  representative  of  a  church,  and  not  a  church,  as  is 
generally  believed  ;  for  that  which  causes  a  church  to  exist 
with  man  is  the  internal  of  worship,  and  the  worship  that  was 
then  established  was  entirely  external,  for  reasons  which  I  have 
just  mentioned.  Man  could  be  brought  back  again  into  the 
internal  of  worship  only  when  the  Lord  Himself  should  insti 
tute  a  church  by  coming  into  the  world  ;  because  it  was  only  by 
making  Himself  man  that  He  could  conquer  the  power  of  evil 
and  falsity  by  subjugating  the  hells;  and  the  Lord  was  to  come 
into  the  world  only  when  man  had  fallen  into  the  last  state  of 
degradation,  that  is,  when  from  external-sensual,  as  he  then 
was,  he  should  become  corporeal-sensual ;  it  was  therefore  to 
preserve  the  human  race  during  this  last  period  of  degradation, 
that  the  Lord  instituted  a  representative  of  a  church.  For  this 
end  He  chose  the  Jewish  nation,  not  because  that  nation  was 
less  corrupt  than  others,  for  the  history  of  the  Jews  proves  that 
they  were  as  barbarous,  and  often  more  ferocious,  than  the 
neighboring  nations;  but  rather  because,  by  the  tenaciousness 
of  their  character,  and  by  their  national  egotism,  the  Jews  were 
better  adapted  to  preserve  untouched  the  depot  of  a  new  writ 
ten  Word. 

You  will  doubtless  ask,  Why  a  new  Word, — since  the  Lord 
might,  before  the  Ancient  Church  was  entirely  destroyed,  have 


232  LETTERS   TO   A 

secured  the  Word,  and  at  a  later  period  have  deposited  it 
among  the  Jews,  when  the  representative  of  a  church  should 
be  instituted  among  them.  I  will  reply  by  enlarging  a  little 
upon  what  I  have  just  said,  viz. :  that  the  Lord,  who  is  pre 
science  itself,  knew  that  the  representative  of  the  church  would 
have  no  more  efficacy  than  the  preceding  churches  for  reinsta 
ting  the  human  race  ;  that  He  alone  could  reinstate  them  by 
coming  himself  into  the  world ;  that  according  to  the  laws  of 
his  Divine  Order,  He  must  not  come  till  the  middle  of  the  times 
\le  milieu  des  temps],  that  is,  till  the  human  race,  by  success 
ively  declining,  should  become"  reduced  to  the  last  state  of  deg 
radation  ;  that  the  middle  of  the  times  had  not  then  arrived ; 
that  it  wTas  indispensably  necessary  to  provide,  in  the  mean 
time,  that  the  human  race  should  not  perish,  by  giving  a  Word 
that  might  be  carefully  preserved  ;  that  if  the  Lord  had  caused 
the  Word  of  the  Ancient  Church  to  be  deposited  with  the  Jew 
ish  nation,  or  with  any  other  nation,  it  could  not  long  have 
existed,  for  no  nation  could  have  preserved  it ;  because  that,  no 
one  being  capable  of  understanding  the  spiritual  sense  of  it, 
the  literal  sense  would  have  been  without  interest  to  them  ;  that 
then  the  loss  of  this  Word  would  have  been  followed  by  that 
of  the  human  race,  since  the  Divine  Wisdom  having  no  further 
access  to  men,  the  communication  of  heaven  with  the  earth 
would  have  been  broken ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  by  giving 
to  the  children  of  Jacob  a  new  Word,  whose  external  sense  was 
conformable  to  their  character  and  to  their  national  egotism,  it 
would  be  preserved  by  them  with  the  greatest  veneration  till  the 
appointed  times.  This  is  what  took  place  ;  in  fact,  this  Word 
being  destined,  like  the  preceding,  to  be  the  bond  of  conjunc 
tion  between  heaven  and  the  human  race,  was  entirely  composed 
of  representatives  and  significatives ;  it  was  also,  like  the  pre 
ceding,  divided  into  historical  and  prophetical  books;  the  his 
torical  relations  anterior  to  Heber,  or  the  father  of  the  He 
brews,  are  fictitious,  like  most  of  those  of  the  Ancient  Word  ; 


MAN    OF   THE   WORLD.  233 

but  those  posterior  to  Heber  are  real.  Now  all  these  relations 
refer  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  Jewish  nation,  and,  moreover, 
all  the  prophetical  books  treat,  in  the  literal  sense,  of  future 
events  relative  either  to  the  principles  of  the  nation  or  to  the 
nation  itself,  and  announce  to  them  the  most  important  desti 
nies  ;  in  fine,  this  Word,  which,  beginning  from  the  creation, 
comes  without  interruption  down  to  the  time  of  Abraham,  and 
afterwards  traces  their  religious,  political,  and  civil  history,  was 
to  them  a  precious  monument,  of  which  they  have  always 
showed  themselves  very  proud.  All  this  may  satisfy  you  why 
the  Jews,  men  so  attached  by  character  to  terrestrial  things, 
have  preserved  this  Word  with  so  much  fidelity  and  constancy, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  why,  by  reason  of  the  inherent  tenacity 
of  their  nature,  this  Word  has  been  intrusted  to  them  in  prefer 
ence  to  any  other  nation. 

I  shall  have  occasion,  further  on,  to  return  to  this  subject, 
and  to  remove  many  objections  by  presenting  to  you  the  Jewish 
nation  and  the  principal  personages  of  the  Bible  under  their 
true  character;  but  for  the  present,  to  avoid  digression,  1  will 
pursue  my  task  by  explaining  to  you  the  manner  in  which  the 
Word  has  been  transmitted. 

The  spiritual  man  having  been  entirely  closed  with  the  people 
of  the  Most  Ancient  Church,  there  was  no  longer  any  open 
communication  with  heaven  ;  that  is,  men  no  longer  conversed 
with  angels,  as  at  the  time  when  that  Church  was  in  a  flourish 
ing  state  ;  there  was  only  a  communication  by  means  of  the 
Word,  but  so  obscure  with  man,  that  he  had  no  knowledge  of 
it.  Such  has  been,  since  that  epoch,  the  ordinary  state  of  man 
upon  this  earth  ;  this  state,  which  goes  back  anterior  to  the 
period  of  historical  record,  seems  to  be  the  normal  state  of  the 
human  race ;  but  it  is,  as  you  see,  only  a  consequence  of  the 
degradation  of  man.  The  Lord  cannot  cause  it  to  cease, 
although  it  may  be  very  easy  for  Him  to  open  the  spiritual-man 
with  all  men,  for  the  Lord  can  desire  only  the  good  of  men,  and 


234  LETTERS    TO  A 

in  the  state  in  which  they  now  are,  if  He  opened  their  spiritual 
man,  He  would  precipitate  them  into  evil ;  in  fact,  they  are  more 
in  the  love  of  self  than  in  the  love  of  God,  and  more  in  the 
love  of  the  world  than  in  the  love  of  the  neighbor;  now,  as 
the  love  of  self  is  diabolic  love,  and  the  love  of  the  world  is 
satanic  love,  men  would  enter  immediately  into  communication 
with  diabolic  and  satanic  spirits,  and  would  disdain  the  society 
of  angelic  spirits.  Nevertheless,  although  the  spiritual  man 
has  been  closed  with  all  men,  and  notwithstanding  the  dangers 
of  which  I  have  just  spoken,  it  has  always  been  capable  of 
being  opened  with  some  few  of  them,  either  when  the  Lord 
wished  to  transmit  revelations  for  the  church, — and  then  all 
dangers  were  carefully  guarded  against, — or  when  men,  driven 
by  an  evil  love,  ardently  desired  to  enter  into  communication 
with  the  other  world, — and  then  they  suffered  the  penalty  of 
their  audacity.  Thus  those  with  whom  the  spiritual  man  was 
open  momentarily  found  themselves  in  communication  with  the 
beings  of  the  spiritual  world ;  namely,  either  with  angels,  who 
most  frequently  announced  themselves  as  being  Jehovah,  or 
with  infernal  spirits,  who  ordinarily  assumed  the  appearance  of 
angels  of  light,  and  presented  themselves  under  diverse  names, 
as  being  also  gods.  Hence  the  true  and  the  false  prophets, 
hence  also  Divine  miracles  and  magic  miracles. 

I  have  just  said  that  angels  announced  themselves  most  fre 
quently  as  being  Jehovah  ;  this  requires  an  explanation  :  before 
that  Jehovah  had  made  himself  flesh,  it  was  impossible  for  Him 
to  communicate  directly  with  his  creatures,  and  to  speak  with 
them  face  to  face ;  you  have  seen  the  reasons  for  this  in  my 
12th  letter,  where  it  is  treated  concerning  redemption  :  when, 
therefore,  Jehovah  wished  to  make  revelations,  he  filled 
an  angel  with  His  divinity,  to  the  extent  that  the  angel  believed 
himself  Jehovah,  and  remained  in  that  belief  until  his  commu 
nication  with  man  or  with  men  had  ceased.  Thus  it  was  always 
by  the  ministry  of  an  angel  that  Jehovah  spake  with  the 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  235 

prophets  and  other  personages  of  the  Bible ;  for  neither  man 
nor  angel  has  seen  or  can  see  Jehovah  ;  but  since  the  Incar 
nation,  they  can  see  the  Lord,  whose  soul  is  Jehovah. 

You  may  already  perceive  by  these  details  how  the  Word  of 
the  Old  Testament  was  given  :  Moses,  the  Prophets,  and  in 
general  those  whom  Jehovah  employed  to  transmit  to  us  the 
Word,  were  all,  at  the  time,  in  communication  with  the  spiritual 
world  ;  or,  in  other  words,  their  spiritual  man  was  then  open. 
When  they  say,  "Jehovah  hath  spoken  to  me," — "The  Angel 
of  Jehovah  hath  said  to  me," — "  I  saw,  and  behold." — etc.,— 
such  expressions  show  that  they  were  not  in  the  ordinary  state. 
The  beings  and  objects  which  they  saw  were  spiritual  beings 
and  objects,  and  they  saw  them  as  distinctly  as  the  natural  man 
sees  the  natural  beings  and  objects  that  surround  him  :  for 
their  spiritual  man  being  open,  they  were  really  in  .the  spir 
itual  world.  The  words  which  they  heard  were  spiritual 
words  which  had  reference  only  to  celestial  and  spiritual  things, 
and  which  on  arriving  within  their  hearing  were  changed  into 
analogous  expressions  concerning  the  world.  But  when  they 
wrote  the  Word,  they  wrote  according  to  an  inspiration  coming 
from  their  interior ;  each  phrase,  each  word,  even  to  the  least 
iota,  was  inspired  into  them ;  there  was  absolutely  nothing  of 
man ;  for  what  they  wrote  could  be  the  Word  only  so  fa:  as  all 
the  literal  or  worldly  expressions  should  be,  without  the  least 
exception,  in  perfect  correspondence  with  the  celestial  and  spir 
itual  ideas  which  they  were  to  represent.  "  This  Word,"  says 
Swedenborg,  "  was  written  in  like  manner  by  representatives 
and  significatives,  in  order  that  it  might  contain  in  itself  an  in 
ternal  sense  understood  in  heaven,  and  that  there  might  thus  be 
a  communication  by  the  Word,  and  that  the  Lord's  kingdom  in 
the  heavens  might  be  united  to  the  Lord's  kingdom  upon  the 
earth.  Unless  each  of  the  things  which  are  in  the  Word  repre 
sents,  and  each  of  the  expressions  by  which  the  things  have  been 
traced  signifies  Divine  things  belonging  to  the  Lord,  consequently 


236  LETTERS  TO  A 

celestial  and  spiritual  things  belonging  to  His  kingdom,  the 
Word  is  not  Divine ;  and  since  the  case  is  so,  the  Word  could 
have  been  written  in  no  other  style,  for  it  is  by  this  style,  and 
by  no  other,  that  human  things  and  expressions  correspond,  even 
to  the  least  jot,  with  celestial  things  and  ideas ;  hence  it  is,  that 
if  the  Word  be  read  only  by  a  child,  the  Divine  things  which  it 
contains  are  perceived  by  the  angels." — A.  C.,  n.  2899. 

You  may  see  from  this  quotation  what  is  the  nature  of  this 
communication  of  heaven  with  the  earth  by  the  Word;  you  know, 
from  my  preceding  letters,  that  there  are  in  every  man  beings  of 
the  spiritual  world,  namely,  angels  and  devils,  good  spirits  and 
evil  spirits  ;  when  therefore  man  reads  the  Word,  the  angels  that 
are  in  him  perceive  the  spiritual  sense  of  it,  and  the  good  spirits 
understand  it,  and  there  is  thus  without  his  knowledge  a  com 
munication  of  those  angels  and  good  spirits  with  him,  which  is 
a  source  of  great  spiritual  advantage  to  him,  if  he  is  disposed  to 
obey  the  interior  impulse  that  results  from  it. 

This  passage  and  that  which  precedes  show  also  that  the  Word 
of  the  Old  Testament  has  precisely  the  same  characters  as  the 
first  written  Word  ;  and  since  the  word  of  the  Ancient  Church 
was  no  other  than  the  Word  or  the  Divine  Wisdom  in  a  natural 
envelope,  it  follows  that  the  Word  [la  Parole]  of  the  Old  Testa 
ment  is  likewise  the  Word  \le  Verbe],  or  the  Divine  Wisdom. 

When  the  middle  of  the  times  arrived,  or  what  is  the  same  thing? 
when  the  human  race,  having  become  entirely  corporeal-sen 
sual,  had  fallen  to  the  last  state  of  spiritual  degradation,  Jehovah, 
came  Himself  into  the  world.  This  is  not  the  time  to  explain  the 
Incarnation  ;  that  grave  subject  will  be  treated  upon  when  we 
discuss  the  question  of  doctrines  ;  but  all  that  has  been  said  thus 
far  is  sufficient  to  enable  you  to  understand  that  Jehovah,  in  con 
sequence  of  the  incarnation,  being  the  soul  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Divine  Saviour,  whilst  He  lived  upon  our  earth,  spake  only  ac 
cording  to  the  science  of  correspondences,  for  every  expression 
that  proceeded  out  of  His  mouth  was  at  the  same  time  intended 


MAN    OF   THE   WORLD.  237 

both  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  heavens  and  the  men  to  whom  He 
addressed  Himself ;  and  that  thus  whatever  He  pronounced  was 
representative  and  significative  of  the  celestial  and  spiritual 
things  of  His  kingdom. 

When  the  Lord  had  glorified  or  rendered  Divine  the  Human, 
which  He  had  assumed  in  the  world  for  the  purpose  of  living 
among  men  and  performing  the  great  work  of  Redemption,  He 
desired  that  certain  expressions  which  He  had  uttered  by  word 
of  mouth,  and  certain  actions  of  His  life  upon  our  earth,  should 
be  collected  and  transmitted  to  posterity  as  a  new  evidence  of 
His  mercy.  Hence  the  Word  of  the  New  Testament,  which  was 
written  in  the  same  manner  as  that  of  the  Old  Testament ;  that 
is,  each  phrase  and  each  word,  even  to  the  smallest  iota,  was  in 
spired,  and  in  the  Evangelists  and  in  the  Apocalypse  there  is 
absolutely  nothing  that  was  derived  from  man.  Everything, 
therefore,  is  in  like  manner  representative  and  significative  of 
celestial  and  spiritual  things  of  the  Lord's  kingdom,  so  that  the 
Word  [la  Parole]  of  the  New  Testament  is  also  the  Word  \le 
Verbe],  or  the  Divine  Wisdom. 

The  question  may  here  arise,  why  did  the  Lord,  since  the  Word 
of  the  Old  Testament  wras  then  in  existence,  and  has  always 
existed,  give  that  of  the  New  Testament  ?  I  will  reply,  by 
saying  that  the  Lord  having  come  into  the  world  in  the 
middle  of  the  times,  that  is,  at  the  epoch  when  humanity, 
having  arrived  at  the  last  limit  of  the  period  of  degeneration, 
was  going  to  enter  through  Him  into  an  ascending  period  of 
regeneration,  it  was  indispensably  necessary  that  the  external 
worship  instituted  by  the  old  Law  in  the  representative  of  the 
Church  for  a  nation  entirely  external,  should  be  succeeded  in 
the  Christian  Church  by  a  worship  whose  internal  should  be 
the  principal,  which  could  be  accomplished  only  by  a  new  Law. 
I  will  also  remind  you  that  in  His  Word  God  always  has  re 
gard  to  circumstances  of  time  and  place,  and  especially  to  the 
state  of  civilization  and  the  character  of  the  people  to  whom 


238  LETTERS    TO   A 

He  addresses  it ;  that  is,  the  celestial  and  spiritual  things  that 
are  transmitted  to  them  are  clothed  with  representatives  and 
significatives  which  are  always  conformable  to  the  times  and 
places,  to  their  state  of  civilization,  and  to  their  character;  and 
this  is  so,  in  order  that  the  Word  may  be  more  easily  received. 
Thus  the  Word  of  the  Old  Testament,  being  addressed  to  the 
Jews,  partakes  of  the  ferocious  and  implacable  character  of 
that  people  ;  and  that  of  the  New  Testament,  being  destined  for 
nations  whose  manners  were  become  somewhat  softened  by 
reason  of  the  new  period  upon  which  they  were  entering,  is 
stamped  with  sentiments  of  benevolence  and  universal  brother 
hood.  Moreover,  I  will  add  that  the  abrogation  of  that  wor 
ship  does  not  affect  at  all  the  sanctity  of  the  entire  Word  of  the 
Old  Testament;  for  the  external  of  the  old  law  which  is  found 
to  be  abrogated  by  the  hew  law,  remains  not  the  less,  on  that 
account,  the  Word  of  the  Lord  ;  inasmuch  as  that  external  con 
tains  within  it  celestia?  and  spiritual  things  which  will  exist 
forever. 

The  institution  of  the  Christian  Church  was  therefore  the 
point  of  departure  of  humanity  in  its  ascending  period  ;  but  this 
Church,  as  is  clearly  announced  in  the  Evangelists  and  in  the 
Apocalypse,  was  itself  to  fall  and  to  be  replaced  by  a  New  Chris 
tian  Church,  designated  by  the  emblematical  name  of  the  New 
Jerusalem.  This  great  event  is  being  accomplished  at  the  pres 
ent  day  without  the  knowledge  of  a  large  majority  of  Chris 
tians. 

This  new  fall,  however,  at  a  period  announced  as  an  ascend 
ing  one,  seems  to  imply  a  contradiction,  and  must  therefore  be 
^explained. 

When  the  Lord  instituted  the  first  Christian  Church,  he  was 
•obliged  to  take  men  just  as  they  were,  since  he  never  forces 
their  free-will ;  now,  when  he  gave  the  Word  of  the  New  Tes 
tament,  they  were  corporeal-sensual,  as  1  have  said ;  if  he  had 
unfolded  to  them  its  internal  sense,  either  they  would  not  have 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  239 

admitted  it,  or  they  would  have  profaned  it ;  and,  in  either  case, 
they  would  have  rejected  the  Word,  and  there  would  have  been 
no  Christian  Church.  Thus,  although  this  Word  was  more 
clear  than  that  of  the  Old  Testament,  it  must,  in  order  to  be  re 
ceived,  remain  sealed,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Old  Testament, 
until  the  internals  contained  within  them  could  be  compre 
hended  and  accepted  by  men.  It  is  true,  that  in  this  manner 
the  Christian  Church  has  fallen  into  the  gravest  heresies,  and  has 
gradually  approached  an  entire  state  of  devastation ;  but  its  exist 
ence  and  its  fall  have  nevertheless  been  an  advance,  since  the  hu 
manity  of  the  present  day  is  found  capable  of  comprehending  and 
of  admitting  a  manifestation  of  the  internals  of  the  Word,  or  of 
the  celestial  and  spiritual  things  contained  in  it,  as  is  sufficiently 
proved  by  the  existence  of  societies  of  the  New  Jerusalem  in 
a  large  part  of  the  kingdoms  of  Europe,  and  in  North  America. 
Thus,  in  consequence  of  the  state  of  things,  and  of  the  free 
will  of  which  man  cannot  be  deprived,  the  Lord  could  only  found 
a  Christian  Church  that  must  necessarily  perish,  as  He  Himself 
announced,  but  \vhich  was  at  the  same  time  to  conduct  Human 
ity  to  another  church,  the  crown  of  the  whole  edifice,  which 
should  exist  forever,  because  it  would  be  able  to  compre 
hend  and  receive  celestial  and  spiritual  things. 

In  support  of  the  assertion,  that  there  would  have  been  no 
Christian  Church,  or  that  it  would  not  have  lasted  out  its  time, 
if  the  Lord  had  revealed  the  internal  sense  of  the  Word,  I  will 
cite  this  fundamental  truth  of  the  New  Church,  viz. :  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  God  Himself,  and  that  there  is  no  other  God 
than  He.  If  the  Lord  had  said  openly  to  the  Jews  that  He  was 
Jehovah,  no  one  would  have  believed  in  His  Word,  and  He  would 
have  had  no  disciples;  or  even  if  after  His  Ascension  He  had 
announced  clearly  in  the  Evangelist  that  He  was  Jehovah,  His 
disciples  would  have  made  few  proselytes,  and  Christianity 
would  not  have  been  sustained,  as  is  evident  from  the  discus 
sions  that  have  arisen  upon  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ 


240  LETTERS   TO   A 

in  the  Councils,  and  especially  in  the  Council  of  Nice,  where, 
in  order  to  save  Christianity,  and  prevent  it  from  falling  into 
Arianism,  they  were  obliged  to  admit  three  persons  into  the 
Trinity. 

It  now  remains  for  me  to  inform  you  briefly  how  the  celes 
tial  and  spiritual  things  contained  in  the  Word  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  have  been  revealed  to  men  by  the  Lord  for  the 
establishment  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  His  New  Church.  The 
Lord  has  followed  in  this,  as  in  all  other  things,  the  laws  of  His 
Divine  Order,  from  which  He  never  deviates.  As  He  opened 
the  spiritual  man  of  the  Prophets,  in  order  to  transmit  His 
Word,  so  He  opened  the  spiritual  man  of  a  modest  and  pious 
Savant  in  order  to  reveal  the  internal  sense  of  this  Word. 
There  is,  however,  this  difference,  that  the  Prophets  were  blind 
instruments,  inasmuch  as  they  did  not  comprehend  what  they 
announced,  or  understood  only  the  letter  of  it,  whilst  the  Reve- 
lator  of  the  internal  sense  of  the  Word  was  to  be  put  in  a  state 
to  comprehend  that  sense,  in  order  that  he  might  develope  it 
rationally.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  Lord  chose  a  Savant 
versed  in  all  human  sciences,  in  order  that  he  might  show  the 
relations  of  the  sciences  with  celestial  and  spiritual  things ; 
and  it  is  also  for  this  reason  that  Swedenborg,  before  commen 
cing  the  publication  of  his  writings,  was  initiated  into  the  knowl 
edge  of  spiritual  things  by  a  daily  communication  of  many 
years  with  spirits  and  angels. 

Accept,  &c. 


LETTER  III. 

IN  my  last  letter  I  gave  you  an  historical  expose,  so  to  speak, 
of  the  Word,  by  showing  you  first  the  Word  in  its  principle  ; 
then,  the  Word  engraven  interiorly  in  the  depth  of  the  heart 
of  the  men  of  the  Most  Ancient  Church ;  afterwards,  the  Word 


MAN  OF  THE  WORLD.  241 

given  to  the  men  of  the  Ancient  Church,  in  a  compilation 
written  according  to  the  correspondences  between  natural  things 
and  spiritual  things  j  and  finally,  a  new  Word  written  also  ac 
cording  to  these  correspondences,  viz.  :  our  Bible  containing  the 
Old  and  New  Testament ;  and  you  have  seen  that  in  these 
various  phases,  the  Word  [La  Parole]  has  never  ceased  to  be 
the  Word  [Le  Verbe]  or  Divine  Wisdom.  Now,  to  neglect  no 
means  of  confirming  in  you  this  important  truth,  I  am  going  to 
attempt  to  complete  this  expose  by  some  considerations  drawn 
from  analogy. 

Man  having  been  created  in  the  image  of  God,  everything 
that  exists  in  him,  so  far  as  he  remains  in  the  order  of  his 
creation,  must  be  the  image  of  something  that  exists  in  God ; 
thus,  there  must  be  a  kind  of  analogy  between  the  Word  of 
man  and  the  Word  of  God.  Let  us  see,  then,  if  this  analogy 
confirms  what  has  been  said  of  the  Word  of  God. 

We  have  said  that  the  Word  in  its  principle,  or  first  cause, 
created  the  Universe,  that  is,  everything  that  God  has  made. 
Is  the  case  similar  in  regard  to  the  Word  of  man  relatively  to 
everything  that  man  makes  *? 

By  the  Word  creating  the  universe,  we  have  understood  the 
Divine  Wisdom  or  understanding  of  God,  acting  from  the  Di 
vine  Love  or  from  the  Will  of  God.  With  man  the  word 
analagous  to  the  Word  is  therefore  the  understanding  acting 
from  the  will,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  the  thought  acting  from 
the  affection.  Now,  it  is  very  evident  that  everything  that  man 
does  is  done  by  his  thought  from  his  affection ;  every  work  of 
man  is  therefore  done  by  his  word.  Thus  considered,  the  word  of 
man  is  not  merely  what  he  expresses,  whether  by  sounds  and 
articulations,  or  by  the  expression  of  the  countenance  and  by 
gestures,  but  also  everything  that  is  produced  by  him  ;  so  that 
this  word  of  man  is  man  himself,  as  the  Word  is  God  Himself, 
for  the  will  and  thought  are  man,  as  Love  itself  and  Wisdom 
itself  are  God. 


242  LETTERS  TO  A 

We  have  said  that  with  the  men  of  the  Most  Ancient 
Church  this  Word  was  engraven  upon  the  bottom  of  the  heart. 
Is  there  anything  in  this  analogous  to  the  word  of  man,  or,  in 
other  terms,  to  what  man  says  and  does  ? 

The  analogy  was  complete  in  relation  to  the  men  of  the  Most 
Ancient  Church  who  remained  in  the  order  of  creation,  and  it 
would  likewise  be  complete  in  reference  to  the  man  of  the  pres 
ent  day,  should  he  live  conformably  to  the  laws  of  order ;  for 
then,  whatever  he  should  say  and  do,  would  be  the  expression 
of  his  thought  which  is  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart ;  but  if, 
when  man  remains  in  the  order  of  his  creation,  everything  that 
exists  in  him  is  the  image  of  something  that  exists  in  God,  it  is 
no  longer  so  when  he  has  perverted  this  order;  whatever  arises 
from  the  abuse  of  some  one  of  his  faculties  is  still,  it  is  true,  in 
relation  with  something  that  exists  in  God,  but  it  is  no  longer 
as  an  image,  it  is  as  something  opposite  or  contrary.  Hence  it 
happens  that,  at  the  present  day,  all  that  man  says  and  does  is 
not  always  the  expression  of  his  thought  which  is  at  the  bottom 
of  his  heart. 

As  to  the  two  written  Words,  namely,  that  of  the  Ancient 
Church  and  our  Bible,  there  is  also  an  analogy  between  them 
and  the  written  word  of  man  ;  but  as  the  Word  of  the  Ancient 
Church  and  the  Bible  were  written  according  to  the  same 
principles,  we  shall  speak  only  of  the  Bible. 

We  have  said  that  the  Bible  or  written  Word  is  also  the  Di 
vine  Wisdom  or  Word  \Le  Verbe],  and,  consequently,  God  Him 
self.  In  regard  to  man,  in  the  acceptation  in  which  we  have 
taken  the  word,  there  is  a  written  word,  when  what  he  says  'is 
fixed  by  writing  or  by  printing,  and  also  when  what  he  does  is 
a  work  that  has  tangible  existence,  as,  for  example,  a  painting, 
a  statue,  a  monument.  Now,  it  is  very  evident  that  the  man  is 
found  in  this  book  or  in  this  work,  such  as  he  was  himself  when 
he  composed  it  or  when  he  made  it :  that  is  to  say,  with  the 
thought  proceeding  from  the  affection  which  he  then  had.  Thus 


MAN    OF    THE    WORLD.  243 

they  say  of  a  sincere  author,  that  he  is  entirely  in  his  writings  ; 
the  painter  is  also  in  his  pictures  ;  the  sculptor  in  his  statues,  the 
architect  in  his  monuments,  although  each  of  these  preserves 
his  own  personality  separate  from  his  works. 

Is  not  the  case  similar  with  God  ?  God  is  entirely  in  the  Bi 
ble,  that  is  to  say,  in  his  Divine  Word,  which  becomes  fixed  by 
means  of  printing,  since  this  Divine  Word  is  the  Divine  Thought 
or  Divine  Wisdom  proceeding  from  the  Divine  Affection  or  Di 
vine  Love ;  but  he  is  in  it  as  a  sincere  author  is  in  his  writings. 
Thus,  although  wholly  in  each  copy  of  the  Bible  to  him  who 
seeks  Him  there  with  love  and  faith,  God  nevertheless  preserves 
His  Divine  Personality  without  or  separate  from  the  entire  uni 
verse  which  is  his  work,  as  an  author  preserves  his  own  per 
sonality  without  or  separate  from  his  writings. 

Let  us  still  continue  the  analogy.  Although  the  author  of  a 
book  written  with  candor  and  sincerity  is  wholly  in  that  book, 
he  does  not  manifest  himself  in  the  same  manner  to  all  those  who 
read  it,  or,  rather,  all  his  readers  do  not  see  him  there  in  the  same 
manner.  The  majority,  far  from  seeking  to  see  him  there,  do 
not  even  think  of  him  while  reading ;  others  see  him  only  super 
ficially  ;  some,  on  the  contrary,  endeavoring  to  seek  him  in  each 
phrase,  and  even  in  each  expression,  succeed  from  day  to  day 
in  knowing  him  better. 

Is  it  not  so  with  God  in  relation  to  the  readers  of  the  Bible  ? 
Those  who  do  not  seek  God  in  the  Bible,  or  who  read  it  without 
thinking  of  God,  cannot  see  him  in  it ;  those  who  desire  to  have 
no  other  knowledges  of  God  than  those  which  they  have  re 
ceived  by  tradition,  see  him  in  it  only  superficially  ;  those,  on  the 
contrary,  who  desire  to  have  a  more  exact  knowledge  of  God, 
with  the  intention  of  learning  how  to  live  a  better  life,  see  God 
in  each  phrase,  and  even  in  each  expression  of  this  Holy  Book. 

These  considerations  upon  the  analogy  between  the  word  of 
man  and  the  Word  of  God,  lead  me  to  speak  also  of  the  differ 
ence  that  exists  between  the  books  of  men  and  the  Bible. 


244  LETTERS   TO   A 

The  book  of  man  contains  only  that  kind  of  truth  that  exists 
in  the  spirit  of  the  author ;  but  the  Books  of  which  the  Bible  is 
composed,  having  been  written  according  to  correspondences  be 
tween  natural  and  spiritual  things,  in  order  that  they  might  be 
comprehended  in  this  world  by  men,  and  at  the  same  time  in  the 
other  by  spirits  and  angels,  contain  every  kind  of  truth,  from 
that  which  is  adapted  to  the  most  imperfectly  developed  human 
understanding,  to  that  which  is  suited  to  the  most  elevated  an 
gelic  intelligence. 

When  you  look  at  a  work  of  man,  whether  a  painting  or  a 
statue,  after  having  seen  the  surface  of  it,  you  ha've  seen  all  of 
it.  It  is  not  so  with  the  works  of  God ;  whatever  may  be  the 
exterior  beauties  of  these  works,  dissection  and  the  microscope 
would  reveal  to  you  interior  beauties  still  more  wonderful ;  and 
the  savant  who  has  pushed  his  researches  to  the  last  limits  of 
science,  still  continues  convinced  that  what  he  has  discovered  is 
very  far  below  what  remains  unknown  to  him.  Every  one 
knows,  it  is  true,  that  there  is  an  immense  difference  between 
the  works  of  God  and  the  works  of  man  ;  but  a  great  number, 
regarding  the  Bible  as  only  a  human  composition  of  great  anti 
quity,  it  would  be  necessary,  in  order  to  lead  them  to  consider 
it  as  a  work  of  God,  to  prove  to  them  that  there  is  between  it 
and  an  ordinary  book  the  same  difference  as  between  the  works 
of  God  and  the  works  of  man.  Now,  from  what  has  just  been 
said,  you  see  that  the  difference  between  the  works  of  God  and 
the  works  of  man  consists  principally  in  this,  that  the  works  of 
God,  from  the  lowest  degree  on  the  scale  of  beings  to  the  high 
est,  have  an  interior  organization  beyond  what  appears  in  their 
exterior  form.  It  is  important,  therefore,  to  prove  that  the  Bi 
ble  has  also  an  interior  organization,  which  does  not  appear  in  its 
exterior  form,  or  in  its  letter;  and  that,  like  all  the  other  works 
of  God,  although  infinitely  superior,  since  it  is  It  which,  in  its 
quality  of  Word,  has  created  all,  it  presents  to  the  scalpel  and 
the  microscope  of  illustrated  human  intelligence  interior  beau 


MAN   OF  THE   WORLD.  245 

ties,  which  become  so  much  more  wonderful  as  one  penetrates 
deeply  into  it.  This  interior  organization,  which  the  Lord  has 
Himself  signalized,  by  saying  that  His  words  are  Spirit  and  Life, 
is  the  internal  sense  enveloped  in  the  external  or  literal  sense  of 
the  Bible. 

Farther  on,  when  we  shall  together  penetrate  into  the  internal 
sense,  you  will  acquire  the  entire  conviction  that  this  sense  con 
tains  marvels  more  and  more  wonderful,  and  that  thus  the  Bible, 
according  to  the  expression  itself  of  the  Lord,  is  Spirit  and  Life. 

Yet  one  observation  before  terminating  this  general  expose. 
From  the  fact  that  the  Bible,  as  the  Word  of  God,  is  God  Him 
self  manifesting  his  Divine  Love  by  his  Divine  Wisdom,  it  fol 
lows  that  it  contains  the  Infinite,  and  that,  consequently,  it  is  in 
exhaustible  and  impenetrable  as  to  its  inmost ;  inexhaustible,  in 
asmuch  as  man  and  angel  will  be  able  continually  and  forever 
to  draw  new  knowledges  from  this  Divine  Source  without  its 
ever  being  drained ;  impenetrable  as  to  its  inmost,  inasmuch  as 
man  and  angel  will  never  be  able  to  know  all  that  it  contains ; 
but  although  impenetrable  as  to  its  inmost,  it  is  not  for  that  less 
adapted  to  all  the  spiritual  and  celestial  wants  of  men  and  an 
gels,  by  means  of  its  spiritual  and  celestial  senses  which  are  suc 
cessively  accessible.  It  is  even  because  that  the  Word  is  inex 
haustible  and  impenetrable  as  to  its  inmost,  that  man  can  enjoy, 
as  well  as  angels,  a  happiness  which  will  continually  increase 
during  all  eternity.  In  fact,  angels  as  well  as  men  live  only  by 
their  affections  and  thoughts  j  now,  whatever  is  the  degree  of 
love  and  of  wisdom  to  which  an  angel  has  arrived,  he  will  al 
ways  be  able  to  draw  from  the  Word  affections  more  and  more 
filled  with  love,  and  thoughts  more  and  more  profound,  without 
however  ever  being  able  to  penetrate  as  far  as  the  inmost.  Sup 
pose,  on  the  contrary,  the  angel  a  perfect  being  in  the  strict  ac 
ceptation  of  the  word,  having  no  more  new  affections  or  new 
thoughts  to  acquire,  because  that  he  would  be  in  possession  of 
all }  what  would  become  of  his  life  ?  Would  it  be  really  living 


246  LETTERS  TO  A 

to  be  in  view  of  eternity  and  without  hope  of  ever  obtaining  any 
new  affection  or  new  thought  ?  Would  it  not  rather  be  only  a 
state  of  ennui,  produced  by  satiety,  which  would  be  entirely  in 
supportable  ?  I  conceive  that  God  is  perfect,  because  that  God 
is  constantly  delighted  in  his  work,  upon  which  he  acts  unceas 
ingly  in  order  that  it  may  become  more  and  more  his  image  ;  but 
I  cannot  conceive  of  a  single  creature  being  perfect,  because 
that  then  that  creature  would  be  God,  and  there  can  be  only  one 
God. 

Such,  my  dear  sir,  is  the  Divine  Word,  the  inexhaustible 
source  of  Love  and  Wisdom,  the  inestimable  treasury  from 
whence  men  can  in  this  world,  and  will  be  able  hereafter,  in  the 
future  life,  eternally  to  draw  good  affections  and  pure  thoughts; 
and  yet  the  Book  that  contains  it  is  misunderstood  by  a  majority 
of  Christians ;  for  the  largest  number  among  these  have  the 
greatest  indifference  for  the  Bible,  others  despise  it,  and  those 
who  have  any  respect  for  it,  explain  it  in  a  manner  so  opposed 
to  the  Justice  of  God,  that  their  commentaries  often  prevent  the 
Divine  Wisdom  from  being  discovered  in  it. 

We  will  soon  study  this  Divine  Book  together  according  to 
your  desire;  and  then  the  truths  in  it  which  have  been  adapted 
to  the  human  understanding  will  become  successively  developed 
before  your  eyes,  if  you  persevere,  as  I  hope  you  will,  in  seek 
ing  them  with  love,  that  is  with  the  firm  desire  of  applying  them 
to  your  life,  in  order  to  become  a  new  man.  But  in  order  that 
this  study  of  the  Bible  may  become  more  easy  for  you,  I  must 
still  remove  certain  prejudices,  and  cause  certain  obstacles  to  dis 
appear  which  would  retard  our  progress. 

PREJUDICES. — There  are  particularly  two  prejudices,  which  it 
is  important  for  me  to  remove  immediately,  because  that  Philo 
sophy,  having  seized  upon  them  as  argument  with  which  to 
combat  the  Bible,  they  may  have  left  upon  your  mind  a  some 
what  unfavorable  impression. 

FIRST  PREJUDICE. —  The  Jews  considered  as  the  People  of  God. 


MAN    OF   THE   WORLD.  247 

The  Theology  of  the  Old  Church,  founding  itself  upon  the 
letter  of  the  Word  without  seeking  the  spirit  of  it,  has  diffused 
through  all  Christendom  this  false  idea,  that  the  Jews,  hefore  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,  were  the  only  people  of  God,  all  the  other 
nations  of  the  earth  having  been  rejected;  in  like  manner,  it  also 
pretends,  supporting  itself  by  the  letter  of  the  New  Testament, 
that,  since  the  establishment  of  Christianity,  Christians  only  can 
be  saved. 

Instead  of  combating  this  false  idea,  Philosophy  has  seized 
upon  it  as  a  pretext  to  attack  the  God  of  the  Jews,  supporting 
itself  upon  such  attributes  of  the  Divinity  as  no  one  can  dispute  ; 
as  for  example,  upon  the  Justice  and  Goodness  of  God.  There 
is  no  one,  in  fact,  who  can  dispute  the  first  of  these  attributes  ; 
and  whatever  difference  there  may  be  between  Divine  Justice  and 
human  justice,  it  is  always  the  case  that  true  human  justice  is  a 
reflection  of  Divine  Justice,  and  that,  consequently,  that  which  is 
generally  regarded  as  unjust  by  men,  cannot  belong  to  Divine 
Justice.  Neither  can  anyone  dispute  the  second  attribute  j  and 
notwithstanding  the  difference  that  exists  between  the  goodness 
or  love  of  God  towards  men,  and  the  goodness  or  love  of  a  fa 
ther  for  his  children,  it  is  not  less  true  that  paternal  goodness  is 
a  reflection  of  Divine  goodness,  and  thus  that  that  which  is  gen 
erally  regarded  as  opposed  to  paternal  goodness,  can  in  no  wise 
belong  to  the  Divine  goodness.  Now,  would  not  the  father  of 
a  numerous  family  be  generally  considered  as  unjust  and  devoid 
of  a  goodness  really  paternal,  if  he  should  love  and  cherish  for 
his  heir  only  one  of  his  children,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  the 
others ;  or,  if  all  his  children  being  obnoxious  to  him,  he  should 
save  only  one  of  them  and  condemn  all  the  others  to  destruction? 
As  this  is  incontestible,  Philosophy  concludes  that  God  being 
Justice  itself,  and  Goodness  itself,  the  God  of  the  Bible  was  not 
the  true  God,  since  he  had  condemned  en  masse  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  to  an  eternal  damnation,  and  had  taken  care  only 
of  the  Jewish  nation,  which  was  as  ferocious  and  as  barbarous 
11* 


248  LETTERS   TO  A 

as  other  nations,  and  which  even  surpassed  them  often  in  the 
refinement  of  cruelty. 

Philosophy  was  therefore  combating  the  Bible,  not  indeed 
with  the  Bible,  as  it  pretended,  but  with  the  false  ideas  dissem 
inated  by  Theology ;  and  the  latter,  far  from  seeking  to  rectify 
these  ideas,  intrenched  itself  behind  the  antiquity  of  the  Bible 
and  the  respect  with  which  it  had  been  invested ;  or  when  it 
was  necessary  to  answer  reproaches  made  against  the  Jewish 
nation  and  its  principal  personage  s,  it  considered  itself  obliged 
to  resort  to  all  possible  means  for  extenuating  their  actions, 
even  though  they  were  most  clearly  opposed  to  all  the  prin 
ciples  of  justice,  of  morality,  or  of  humanity.  Thus,  Theology, 
instead  of  again  seizing  the  advantage  over  its  adversary,  fur 
nished  him  by  these  very  means,  with  new  weapons  against  itself. 
But  the  true  Theology,  which  was  given  by  the  Lord  in  the 
writings  of  Swedenborg,  could  have  nothing  to  fear  from  a 
contest  with  Philosophy,  for  this  Theology  is  founded  upon  the 
principle  thatt^od  is  Love  Ttself,  Justice  Itself,  and  Mercy  Itself  j 
and  none  of  its  doctrines,  as  you  will  presently  see,  is  contradic 
tory  to  these  Divine  Attributes,  which  Philosophy  cannot  dispute. 
Thus  the  weapons  which  Philosophy  used  with  so  much  suc 
cess  in  the  last  century,  and  at  the  commencement  of  the  present, 
would  now  be  attended  with  no  danger,  since  the  true  Theology 
explains  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner,  what  is  to  be  understood 
in  the  Bible  by  the  People  of  God. 

If  the  descendants  of  Jacob  have  been  called  the  People  of 
God,  it  is  because  they  had  been  chosen  to  be  a  representative 
of  the  Church  ;  and  you  have  seen  in  my  last  letter,  that  if  the 
Jews  have  been  chosen  rather  than  any  other  nation,  it  is  not 
because  they  had  been  less  corrupt.  Now,  as  it  is  a  general 
law  of  representation,  that  the  thought  is  not  occupied  with  the 
person  or  thing  which  represents,  but  that  everything  has  rela 
tion  to  the  thing  represented,  and  that  thus  it  matters  little 
who  or  what  the  person  is  who  represents,  it  follows  that  the 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  249 

Jewish  nation,  however  abominable  it  might  be,  was,  in  the 
sense  of  the  letter,  necessarily  called  the  People  of  God,  since 
it  represented  the  Church  of  the  Lord,  which  is  composed  of  all 
those  who  acknowledge  one  God  and  live  in  good,  whatever 
be  their  external  mode  of  worship  ;  and  that  Jewish  personages 
were,  also,  in  certain  circumstances,  necessarily  called  the 
elect  of  God,  however  blameable  had  been  their  conduct  in  oth 
er  respects. 

Far  from  seeking  to  extenuate  the  base  and  atrocious  actions 
committed  by  the  Jewish  people,  and  by  their  principal  person 
ages,  the  true  Theology  leaves  them  in  all  their  weight,  just  as 
they  are  related  in  the  Bible  :  it  by  no  means  considers  the  Jews 
as  the  People  of  God  in  the  sense  of  a  privileged  people,  nor 
any  of  their  chiefs,  pontiffs,  kings,  or  prophets,  as  the  elect  of 
God  in  the  common  acceptation  of  that  word  ;  for  this  would  be 
to  do  injury  to  God,  in  whose  view  all  men  are  equal  ;  it  is  the 
life  alone  that  makes  a  difference  between  men  ;  thus,  to  appre 
ciate  the  character  of  any  one,  we  must  consider  his  life,  and 
not  the  function  with  which  he  is  charged.  Farther  on,  I  shall 
often  have  occasion  to  speak  to  you  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  to 
show  it  to  you  under  its  true  aspect ;  it  will  be  sufficient  for  the 
present  to  refer  you  to  No.  433  of  the  Apocalypse  Explained, 
where  you  will  find  interesting  details  upon  the  origin  of  the 
Jews,  upon  their  character,  and  upon  their  faith. 

SECOND  PREJUDICE.—  The  Pentateuch  considered  as  the  source 
whence  all  the  nations  of  antiquity  have  derived  their  religious 
ideas. 

The  old  Theology  founding  itself  upon  this  true  principle, 
that  without  Revelation  man  could  have  known  no  spiritual 
truth,  has  hence  concluded,  and  still  pretends,  that  all  the 
nations  of  antiquity  have  derived  from  the  books  of  the  Jews 
all  their  religious  ideas  which  have  any  affinity  with  those 
that  are  contained  in  the  Pentateuch. 

Such  a  pretension  had  nothing  in  it  very  prejudicial  to  the 


250  LETTERS  TO  A 

Bible,  so  long  as  Philosophy  dared  not  enter  into  open  contro 
versy ;  but  it  became  very  injurious  from  the  commencement 
of  that  controversy,  and  especially  since  the  theogonies  and 
chronologies  of  ancient  nations  have  been  studied  with  more 
care  ;  for  it  is  no  longer  merely  Philosophy  that  combats  this 
pretension,  it  is  science  also,  supported  by  all  modern  discov 
eries.  In  face  of  so  many  proofs,  which  at  the  present  day  at 
test  the  high  antiquity  of  the  nations  of  the  East,  in  face  of 
so  many  vestiges  which  prove  the  existence  of  a  civilization 
far  anterior  to  our  historical  times,  how  can  any  one  dare  still 
to  pretend,  that  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  have  drawn  their 
religious  notions  from  the  books  of  the  Jews,  the  most  ancient 
of  which  do  not  go  back,  at  farthest,  more  than  three  thousand 
and  four  or  five  hundred  years  1  Is  this  not  acting  against  the 
Bible,  rather  than  in  its  defence  ? 

The  arguments  which  Dupuis  has  accumulated  in  his  Origin 
of  all  kinds  of  Worship,  are  overwhelming  against  the  old 
Theology ;  but  what  can  they  avail  against  the  Bible  and 
against  the  true  Theology?  Nothing;  absolutely  nothing.  If 
Dupuis  proves  incontestably  that  the  Orientals  have  borrowed 
nothing  from  a  miserable  people  that  lived  in  a  retired  corner  of 
Asia,  this  proof  is  overwhelming  only  to  the  old  Theology,  which 
maintains  the  contrary  ;  but  it  is  without  any  force  against  the 
Bible,  when  the  Bible  is  separated  from  its  unwise  defenders  ; 
it  is  also  without  any  force  against  the  true  Theology,  since  the 
latter  acknowledges  that  the  Orientals  have  borrowed  nothing 
from  the  Mosaic  Word. 

What  is  peculiar  in  this  contest,  is  the  fact  that  Philosophy 
and  Theology  are  both  in  error;  for  Philosophy  retorting 
against  its  adversary,  maintains  that  the  Jews  have  invented 
nothing  and  have  copied  everything ;  or,  in  other  words,  that 
the  Pentateuch  has  been  drawn  from  the  theogonies  of  the 
Orientals. 

Upon  this  point,  as  upon  almost  all  others,  it  is  only  in  the 


MAN  OF  THE  WORLD.  251 

writings  of  Swedenborg  that  the  truth  can  be  found.  You 
have  seen  by  my  last  letter,  that,  anterior  to  the  Word  given  to 
the  descendants  of  Jacob,  there  had  been  in  the  Ancient  Church 
a  written  Word;  and  that  this  Ancient  Church,  far  from  being 
confined  to  a  small  colony,  extended  over  the  largest  part  of  the 
globe,  and  flourished  principally  in  Syria,  the  Land  of  Canaan, 
Mesopotamia,  Arabia,  Chaldea,  Assyria,  Egypt,  Nineveh, 
Tyre  and  Sidon.  Now,  Theologians  of  the  old  church  cannot 
deny  the  existence  of  this  Ancient  Word,  since  the  Bible  con 
tains  some  fragments  of  it,  and  gives  us  even  the  names  of 
the  two  parts  of  which  it  was  composed  ;  and  on  the  opposite 
side,  philosophers  and  savants,  who  carry  back  the  theog- 
onies  of  the  Orientals  and  of  other  ancient  nations  to  an  epoch 
anterior  to  Moses,  when  there  existed  upon  our  globe  an  ad 
vanced  civilization,  the  vestiges  of  which  they  are  collecting 
with  avidity,  have,  consequently,  no  motive  for  denying  the  ex 
istence  of  this  ancient  Church.  Now,  therefore,  difficulties 
vanish ;  if  the  ancient  theogonies  have  all  points  of  resem 
blance  between  them  and  our  Bible,  it  is  because  they  are  all 
derived  from  the  same  source,  the  written  Word  of  the  Ancient 
Church;  and  if  they  differ,  it  is  because  this  church  having 
fallen,  the  science  of  correspondences,  the  only  key  of  that 
Word,  has  been  lost,  and  their  worship  having  become  idola 
trous,  each  nation  made  for  itself  a  particular  theogony,  founded 
however  upon  the  original  types  of  which  they  had  no  longer 
any  knowledge.  Thus  all  the  systems  of  cosmogony  and  of 
worship  of  ancient  times,  were  only  adulterations  more  or  less 
gross  of  the  ante- Mosaic  Word. 

This  explanation,  as  you  see,  leaves  untouched  the  principle, 
that  without  revelation,  man  could  have  known  no  spiritual 
truth  :  and  at  the  same  time  it  protects  the  Bible  against  all  at 
tack,  so  far  as  it  concerns  the  points  of  resemblance  that  it  has 
with  the  theogonies  of  the  ancient  nations,  for  these  points  of 
resemblance  arise  from  the  fact,  that  the  first  seven  chapters  of 


252  LETTERS    TO    A 

Genesis  constituted  a  part  of  the  Word  of  the  Ancient  Church, 
and  have  been  extracted  from  it. 

OBSTACLES. — These  consist  of  a  great  number  of  charges  and 
objections.  For  the  present  I  shall  examine  only  the  three  fol 
lowing  points,  which  contain  the  most  serious  charges  and  ob 
jections. 

I.  Jehovah  in  the  Bible  gives  himself  up  to  vengeance,  anger  ^ 
and  other  human  passions.  This  charge,  which  the  old  Theology 
is  unable  to  answer,  remains  without  force  and  falls  to  the  ground 
as  soon  as  it  is  known  that  the  Word,  being  Written  according 
to  correspondences  between  spiritual  and  natural  things,  is  ex 
pressed  according  to  appearances  and  the  fallacies  of  the  senses. 
"  Jehovah-God,  or  the  Lord,"  says  Swedenborg,  "  never  curses 
any  one,  he  is  never  angry  with  any  one,  he  never  leads  any 
into  temptation  ;  he  punishes  none,  much  less  does  he  curse 
any.  Such  things  can  never  proceed  from  the  source  of  mercy, 
of  peace  and  goodness.  If  it  is  said  in  the  Word  that  Jehovah- 
God  not  only  turns  away  his  face,  is  angry,  punishes,  tempts, 
but  also  that  he  kills,  and  even  curses,  it  is  in  order  that  men 
may  believe  that  the  Lord  governs  and  disposes  all  things  in 
general  and  in  particular,  even  evil  itself,  punishments  and  temp 
tations  ;  and  after  this  most  general  idea  has  been  received,  that 
they  may  learn  how  he  governs  and  disposes  all  things,  and 
that  he  turns  the  evil  of  punishment  and  of  temptation  into  good ; 
it  is  from  things  most  general  that  the  order  of  teaching  and  of 
learning  in  the  Word  commences  ;  hence  the  literal  sense  abounds 
in  such  most  general  things."  A.  C.  n.  245.  He  further  adds, 
"  All  these  expressions  have  been  used,  in  order  that  persuasions 
and  lusts  might  not  be  broken,  but  bent;  for  to  speak  otherwise 
than  according  to  man's  comprehension, — and  he  comprehends 
only  according  to  appearances,  fallacies  and  persuasions,  would 
have  been  to  sow  seed  in  the  waters,  and  to  say  things  that 
would  be  instantly  rejected."  A.  C.  n.  1874.  Jehovah  has 
therefore  presented  himself  in  this  manner  in  the  Bible,  because 


MAN  OF  THE  WORLD.  253 

of  the  barbarity  and  ferocity  of  the  descendants  of  Jacob,  who 
could  not  have  conceived  of  God  otherwise.  But  if  God  does 
not  punish,  who  is  it  that  punishes  ?  The  true  Theology  replies : 
Evil  itself  punishes  itself  ;  that  is,  the  wicked  plunge  themselves 
into  the  pain  that  corresponds  to  the  evil  that  they  have  com 
mitted. 

II.  Facts  and  expressions  that  offend  against  morality.  One 
of  the  gravest  charges  which  Philosophy  makes  against  the  Bi 
ble,  is  that  it  presents  pictures  of  manners  which  could  be  toler 
ated  only  in  an  uninspired  book. 

The  best  answer  given  by  the  old  Theology  is  this ;  that  every 
thing  is  impure  to  him  whose  heart  is  impure,  but  that  every 
thing  is  pure  to  him  whose  heart  is  pure.  This  is  very  true, 
and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  there  is  no  danger  in  putting  the 
Bible  into  the  hands  of  a  person  of  a  pure  heart.  But  as  this  an 
swer  is  far  from  satisfying  philosophers,  since  it  gives  no  indica- 
cation  why  such  pictures  are  found  in  the  Bible,  I  am  going  to 
present  you  with  the  additions  which  true  Theology  has  made 
to  it. 

The  Bible  gives  us,  it  is  true,  the  history  of  the  Jewish  nation  ; 
but  that  which  constitutes  the  principal  subject  of  the  Bible, 
since  it  is  the  Word  of  God,  is  not  properly  the  history  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  it  is  the  relation  of  certain  historical  facts,  which 
by  their  correspondence,  represent  the  spiritual  states  which  the 
Lord  wished  to  present  in  his  Word.  In  fact,  of  what  conse 
quence  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  to  all  future  ages 
could  be  a  history  of  this  little  people  written  like  that  of  other 
nations  ?  Not  any,  assuredly;  but  the  case  is  not  so  in  regard 
to  the  historical  facts  which  the  Bible  contains  concerning  the 
Jewish  people,  they  are  of  very  great  importance  to  us;  and 
that,  because  they  have  been  transmitted  as  representatives,  and 
have  been  expressed  by  words,  all  of  which,  even  to  the  least 
iota,  are  significative  ;  for  it  is  this  only  that  imprints  upon  any 
written  composition  the  character  of  the  Word  of  God.  Thus, 


254  LETTERS    TO   A 

when  the  history  of  a  patriarch,  of  a  judge,  of  a  king,  or  of  any 
other  personage  is  treated  of,  there  are  given  of  his  entire  life  only 
those  facts,  whether  general  or  particular,  which  are  adapted 
to  represent  in  a  series,  the  spiritual  states  which  God  thus  en 
veloped  in  a  literal  sense,  in  order  to  fix  them  so  that  they 
might  serve  for  a  communication  of  the  spiritual  world  with  the 
natural  world  ;  whereas,  in  relation  to  all  other  facts,  no  mention 
is  made  of  them  ;  and  thfe  explains  the  reason  why  there  appear 
to  he  gaps  in  the  Bible,  when  it  is  considered  merely  as  a  histo 
ry  of  the  Jews.  • 

If  we  now  inquire  what  the  facts  are  that  were  to  be  more 
particularly  collected  together  in  the  Bible,  we  shall  see  that  they 
are  precisely  those  whose  relation  most  offends  the  ears  of  our 
philosophers.  In  fact,  the  Word  in  its  internal  sense  treats  only 
of  the  Lord,  of  the  church,  and  of  men  considered  as  a  church  ; 
in  every  part  of  it  the  celestial  marriage  is  treated  of,  that  is,  the 
marriage  of  the  Lord  with  the  church,  which  is  the  marriage  of 
good  with  truth ;  and  in  the  opposite  sense,  the  infernal  marriage, 
which  is  the  marriage  of  evil  with  the  false.  Thus  whenever 
the  church  was  to  be  treated  of  as  in  evil  and  the  false,  and  con 
sequently  perverted,  this  state  was  to  be  represented,  and  was  rep 
resented  in  the  historical  books,  by  whatever  constitutes  the  in 
fernal  marriage,  that  is,  by  facts  of  adultery,  of  prostitution,  and 
even  of  incest,  and  in  the  prophetical  books  by  expressions 
which  describe  infamous  acts  of  debauchery. 

III.  Indifferent  assertions  quite  unworthy  of  the  attention  of 
God ;  contradictions  in  historical  circumstances ;  contradictory 
propositions.  These  objections  which  the  old  Theology  has  been 
entirely  unable  to  remove,  you  may  easily  render  void  by  means 
of  the  knowledge  which  you  now  have  of  the  Bible. 

You  know  that  the  Bible  was  written  according  to  correspond 
ences  that  exist  between  spiritual  things  and  natural  things ;  you 
know  that  its  end  is  the  regeneration  of  man  by  means  of  the 
knowledge  of  important  truths  of  the  spiritual  sense  j  you  know, 


MAN    OF   THE   WORLD.  255 

in  fine,  that  the  literal  sense  was  destined  to  serve  as  an  envel 
ope  to  this  spiritual  sense,  and  not  to  perfect  man  in  natural 
knowledge.  Thus  when  you  find  in  the  Bible  passages  which 
seem  to  relate  exclusively  to  things  that  are  indifferent  and  un 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  God,  you  will  be  convinced  that  there 
are  concealed  other  things  much  more  interesting.  When  you 
shall  find  any  contradiction  in  historical  circumstances,  you  will 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  letter  to 
bend  in  some  respects  under  the  weight  of  important  matters  that 
are  contained  in  its  interiors,  and  that,  to  express  these  more 
fully,  some  slight  deviation  must  necessarily  be  made  in  the  lit 
eral  narrative  j  for  every  composition  should  be  judged  according 
as  it  is  appropriate  to  the  end  of  the  author,  and  in  the  Bible  God's 
end  was  the  spiritual  rather  than  the  natural.  Finally,  when 
you  meet  with  two  contradictory  propositions,  such  as  the  fol 
lowing  :  "  God  repents," — Gen.  vi.  6, — and  "  God  does  not  re 
pent,"  Numb.  xx.  19 — how  can  the  two  assertions  be  true  in  the 
same  sense,  and  yet  as  they  must  be  true  in  a  certain  sense,  since 
they  are  both  in  the  Bible,  you  will  conclude  that  one  is  a  truth 
entirely  naked,  and  that  the  other  is  covered  under  the  veil  of  a 
simple  appearance  formed  in  human  ideas ;  thus  that  one  is  a 
real  truth  in  connection  with  the  spiritual  sense,  and  the  other 
an  apparent  truth,  which,  to  become  real,  must  be  rectified  by 
the  spiritual  sense. 

I  shall  terminate  my  letter  by  this  question  which  has  been 
often  put  to  me. 

Since  the  true  theology  has  nothing  to  fear  from  philosophy, 
why  did  not  the  Lord  make  it  known  sooner,  in  order  to  enlight 
en  men,  and  prevent  his  Word  from  being  outraged  ? 

I  shall  first  remark  that  the  principles  upon  which  this  theol 
ogy  is  founded  are  not  new,  and  they  are  all  plainly  expressed  in 
the  literal  sense  of  the  Bible,  although  not  united  in  a  body ;  but 
I  must  add,  that  as  soon  as  the  Apostolic  Doctrine,  which  renders 
faith  subordinate  to  charity,  had  begun  to  be  no  longer  regarded 


256  LETTERS  TO  A 


as  the  sole  and  qjjy  doctrine,  Christianity  became  a  prey  to 
heresies,  which  multiplied  to  infinity  ;  that  hence  sects  arose  ; 
that  each  sect  always  found  in  the  Bible  certain  passages  to  sup 
port  its  own  doctrine,  and  that  then  it  regarded  th«se  passages  as 
the  summary  of  the  law,  and  passed  over  all  those  that  could 
not  be  made  to  agree  with  their  doctrine  ;  that  each  sect  thus 
made  for  itself  a  doctrine  of  its  own,  and  was  no  longer  able  to 
see  the  principles  of  the  true  theology  in  the  Bible^  although 
these  principles  were  nevertheless  expressed  there  in  very  ex 
plicit  terms.  Hence,  it  is  evident  that  Christians  can  have  no  oc 
casion  to  complain  of  having  been  left  in  the  dark,  since  they 
have  always  had  at  their  disposal  true  spiritual  principles ;  if 
they  saw  them  not,  or  rather  if  they  would  not  see  them,  it  is 
because  that  love  of  self  and  of  the  world  reigned  in  them ;  but 
the  simple  of  heart,  who  lived  conformably  to  the  precepts  of  the 
Decalogue,  have  always  seen  them,  in  spite  of  the  theological 
errors  that  had  been  inculcated  upon  them. 

In  regard  to  the  true  Theology  itself,  that  is,  as  developed  in  a 
doctrinal  body,  and  given  by  the  Lord  in  the  writings  of  Sweden- 
borg,  it  could  not  have  been  presented  sooner  to  mankind  :  if 
that  had  been  possible,  the  Lord,  who  is  Love  Itself  and  Mercy 
Itself,  would  not  have  waited  so  long  before  making  it  known  ; 
but  the  impossibility  existed,  because  the  Lord,  conformably  to 
the  laws  of  Divine  Order,  never  forces  any  one,  and,  consequent 
ly,  this  doctrine  could  not  have  been  received  by  any  person. 
In  fact,  before  Philosophy  had  attacked  Theology  with  so  much 
vigor,  the  latter  was  ruling  with  absolute  sovereignty  both  in 
Catholicism  and  in  Protestantism ;  woe  to  him  who  then  dared 
to  attack  it,  for  it  had  recourse  even  to  secular  force,  and  the 
fagot  was  kindled.  How  can  it  be  supposed  that  from  that  time 
it  would  have  received,  or  permitted  to  be  received,  a  doctrine 
which  clearly  shows  that  all  the  dogmas  of  Christianity  have 
been  falsified  *?  Would  it  not  rather  have  stifled  it  from  its  very 
first  appearance  "?  In  order  that  the  New  Doctrine  might  be  able 


M 


MAN  OF  THE  WO 

to  be  brought  to  light,  without  being  imm< 
was  necessary  that  a  breach  should  first  be  made  upon  the  old 
Theology  itself  by  Philosophy,  and  that  it  should  thus  lose  a 
great  part  of  the  ascendancy  which  it  had  taken  both  over  gov 
ernments  and  people.  Besides,  that  which  clearly  proves  that 
the  New  Doctrine,  if  it  had  been  given  before,  would  have 
been  received  by  no  one,  is  the  fact  that  at  its  appearance  it 
was  adopted  by  but  a  very  small  number  of  men  ;  and  although 
Swedenborg  had  sent  gratuitously  the  works  containing  it  to 
prelates  of  various  Christian  denominations,  to  Universities  and 
to  the  principal  public  libraries,  the  theology  which  might  have 
drawn  thence  arguments  against  its  adversary,  proudly  dis 
dained  that  anchor  of  safety  which  the  Lord  offered  it;  and 
after  the  example  of  the  synagogue,  it  preferred  darkness  to 
light. 

The  Lord  therefore  could  not  have  prevented  his  Divine 
Word  from  being  outraged.  Yet  you  are  not  to  suppose  that  the 
greatest  outrages  that  the  Word  of  the  Lord  has  had  to  bear, 
have  proceeded  from  Philosophy;  the  scoffs  that  Philosophy 
hurled  against  the  Bible,  the  sarcasms  that  it  lavished  upon  it, 
the  contempt  with  which  it  regarded  it,  all  this  was  but  little, 
compared  with  the  outrages  which  it  received  on  the  part  of 
Theology.  Philosophy,  it  is  true,  attacked  the  Bible  with  fury, 
but  it  did  not  profane  it,  because  it  did  not  acknowledge  it  as  the 
Word  of  God  ;  and  besides,  in  its  blindness  it  had  some  correct 
notions  of  God,  for  it  represented  him  as  just,  good,  and  loving  all 
men,  and  it  was  indignant  at  the  bare  idea,  that  the  evil  passions 
of  man  should  be  attributed  to  Him.  Theology,  on  the  contrary, 
acknowledged  the  Bible  as  the  Word  of  God,  and  yet  ceased  not 
to  commit  outrages  against  It,  blaspheming  It,  even  when  it  ap 
peared  to  defend  it  with  the  most  favor.  And,  in  fact,  is  there 
a  greater  outrage  against  God,  than  to  attribute  to  Him  the  worst 
of  human  passions,  partiality,  injustice,  jealousy,  vengeance  and 
cruelty  ?  Are  not  these  passions  so  entirely  in  opposition  to 


258  LETTERS    TO  A 

the  attributes  of  Divinity,  tacitly  comprised  in  the  dogmas  of  the 
old  Theology  ?  These  are  the  greatest  blasphemies  against  God, 
and  it  is  by  dogmas  thus  falsified  that  the  Divine  Word  is  most 
basely  outraged. 

This  is,  moreover,  confirmed  by  facts  which  transpired  at  the 
time  of  the  first  coming  of  the  Lord.  There  were  then  in  Judea 
many  sects:  that  of  the  Pharisees,  which  was  the  principal,  had 
acquired  a  reputation  for  its  rigidity  ;  it  had  added  to  the  Law 
oral  tradition,  and  thus  had  made  itself  the  interpleader  of  the 
Law,  which  procured  it  much  veneration.  The  sect  of  the  Phar 
isees  taught  the  resurrection,  whilst  that  of  the  Sadducees  de 
nied  it ;  well,  it  was  not  the  Sadducees  whom  the  Lord  blames 
most,  for  when  they  came  scoffingly  to  ask  Him  a  question,  He 
merely  told  them  that  they  erred, — Matth.  xxii. ; — but  He  acted 
quite  differently  towards  the  Pharisees,  those  rigid  observers  of 
tradition  and  the  law  as  interpreted  by  them  ;  He  treated  them 
with  the  greatest  rigor,  He  called  them  hypocrites,  fools,  blindT 
whitened  sepulchres,  serpents,  a  generation  of  vipers, — Matth. 
xxiii.  In  the  relation  of  the  Passion  of  the  Lord,  the  Evangel 
ists  say  nothing  of  the  Sadducees,  but  they  show  us  that  the 
High-Priests  and  the  Scribes  were  all  set  against  Him  ;  and  it  is 
even  said  in  Matthew,  that  the  Pharisees  called  him  an  impos 
tor,— xxvii.  62,  63.  The  greatest  enemies  of  the  Lord,  therefore, 
whilst  He  lived  in  the  world,  were  not  the  Philosophers  or  Saddu 
cees,  but  the  High-Priests,  Scribes  and  Pharisees ;  these  are  they 
who  crucified  Him  ;  Him  the  incarnate  Word,  the  Divine  Word  ; 
and  as  similar  things  always  take  place  at  the  end  of  each  church, 
this  same  Word  has  received  again  like  outrages  on  the  part  of 
the  Pharisees  of  Christianity. 

From  these  facts,  which  show  so  clearly  that  the  Sadducees 
were  less  culpable  than  the  Pharisees,  it  seems  well  established, 
that  modern  Philosophy  has  also  been  less  culpable  than  Theol 
ogy  ;  and  even  at  the  present  time,  it  is  not  so  much  Philosophy 
as  the  old  Theology  that  will  place  itself  in  opposition  to  the 


MAN   OF   THE   WORLD.  259 

establishment  of  the  New  Church,  which  the  Lord  is  now  insti 
tuting.  Philosophy  dreads  the  spiritual  principle,  only  because 
it  always  has  in  view  the  horrors  that  have  been  committed  for 
more  than  three  thousand  years  in  the  name  of  that  principle ; 
it  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  it  manifests  much  reserve  and 
even  distrust;  but  it  will  not  always  be  hostile,  and  it  will  sur 
render  itself  to  evidence.  The  old  Theology,  on  the  contrary, 
always  thinks  of  the  power  which  it  formerly  had;  it  mourns 
over  its  loss,  and  despairs  not  of  again  coming  in  possession  of 
it,  at  least  in  part ;  it  will,  consequently,  make  constant  efforts  to 
extinguish  the  spiritual  light  of  the  New  Church.  Moreover, 
true  Theology  is  not  incompatible  with  true  Philosophy  ;  Phi 
losophy,  therefore,  has  no  occasion  for  fearing  destruction ;  it 
will  only  be  modified,  and  will  preserve  its  distinguished  rank, 
out  as  a  subordinate,  and  without  pretending  to  occupy  the  first 
place.  False  Theology,  on  the  contrary,  cannot  exist  in  con 
currence  with  true  Theology,  the  triumph  of  the  latter  will  be 
the  annihilation  of  the  former. 

Accept,  &c. 


THE  END. 


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